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Physical intimacy is sensual proximity and/or touching.[1] It can be enjoyed by itself and/or be an expression of feelings (such as close friendship, love, and/or sexual attraction) which people have for one another. Examples of physical intimacy include being inside someone's personal space, holding hands, hugging, kissing, caressing, and sexual activity.
The forms of physical intimacy, in order of increasing degree of intimacy (but not necessarily in order of increasing enjoyment), with each form generally including those preceding it, are: physical closeness, touching (especially tenderly), touching intimate parts (including outercourse), and sexual penetration.
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Intimate proximity
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It is possible to be physically intimate with someone without actually touching him or her; however, a certain proximity is necessary. For instance, proximity and sustained eye contact is a form of physical intimacy. When a person enters someone else's personal space for the purpose of being intimate, it is physical intimacy, regardless of the lack of actual physical contact.
The objective of physical closeness can be a mix in various proportions of desired intimacy and practical aspects, such as lack of space, softness, stability (e.g. in a moving vehicle), and keeping warm; e.g. somebody sits on somebody else's lap, or sleeps leaning on somebody else. Physical closeness may also be involuntary, as in a crowded train or elevator. In such cases eye contact tends to be avoided (see also frotteurism and groping for this form of unwanted intimacy). Another form of this kind of closeness is when one goes to a crowded place for entertainment: a bar, disco, pop concert, street festival, etc.
Physical intimacy is a natural part of human nature, and research has shown it has health benefits as well. When we hug or touch, we release oxytocin, dopamine, and serotonin, and have a dip in stress hormones.[citation needed] A lack of physical intimacy can lead to increased feelings of loneliness.[citation needed]
Affectionate touching
Virtually any kind of physical touch can be seen as affectionate under the right circumstances, but common examples include:
- Holding hands
- Hugging: gently enclosing the arms around the trunk of each other or holding them against you
- Sitting on or lying against another person; resting one's head on the other's shoulder, lap, breast, chest, etc.
- Caressing (petting): gently stroking body parts or hair with a hand
- Tickling
- Massaging someone's back, legs or feet or other part.
- Kissing
- Sexual intercourse
- Rubbing or patting someone's belly, mostly for babies
- Patting the buttocks or swatting the back or upper arm.
- Tapping the legs
An interpersonal relationship that does not involve sexual behavior, e.g. friendship, may involve affectionate touching. Friends may avoid physical intimacy to avoid associations with sexuality or emotional intimacy, in order not to appear to be in a sexual relationship. The definition of "sexual" physical intimacy varies greatly.
Whether a person is wearing clothing or is nude also plays a role.
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A cuddle party is a party where strangers cuddle, touch, caress, and massage, subject to rules such as no nudity, no hands under clothes, no French kisses and no dry humping or other sex.
Also a person, especially a child, may caress and hug a doll or stuffed animal.
In the Roman Catholic rite of the Holy Mass, immediately after the Doxology, the congregation will partake in the Pax or Rite of Peace. In most Western churches, this involves a handshake and the words "Peace be with you." If the other party is someone known to you, a hug may be substituted. Spouses tend to hug and/or kiss each other first before using the traditional handshake and "Peace be with you" for the other surrounding members of the congregation.
Skinship
In Japan and South Korea, the term "skinship" (Japanese: スキンシップ "sukinshippu"; Korean: 스킨십) is used to describe the intimacy, or closeness, between a mother and a child. Today, the word is generally used for bonding through physical contact, such as holding hands, hugging, or parents washing their child at a bath. The earliest citation of this word appears in Nihon Kokugo Daijiten in 1971.[2]
According to Scott Clark, the word is a portmanteau derived from "skin", plus the last syllable of "friendship"[3], though the apparent similarity with the English word 'kinship' raises the question whether this word was also originally coined as a play on words. Use of the word "skinship" in English publications seems to focus on the notion of sharing a bath naked, an idea known in Japanese as hadaka no tsukiai (裸の付き合い, "naked association"). It is not clear why the meaning has shifted in being borrowed back into English.
Other forms of intimacy
Other kinds of intimacy include:
- emotional intimacy: talking about emotions, empathy and sympathy between two or more people.
- sexual intimacy
See also
References
- ^ University of Florida
- ^ "Skinship". Word Spy. 2003-02-05. http://www.wordspy.com/words/skinship.asp. Retrieved 2007-07-03.
- ^ Clark, Scott. Japan, a View from the Bath. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1994, p. 73. ISBN 0824816153, ISBN 0824816579.
External links
- "American guys embrace the hug" - article at The Arizona Republic
- Short movie: Biggest European Hug organised by AEGEE-Utrecht
- NPR: Poet on Call, By Andrei Codrescu commentary on hugs on NPR
- "Free Hugs Campaign"-Man giving out free Hugs in Sydney, Australia
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