| Normal but if normal makes you uncomfortable, then take note for next time. |
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My husband is a touchy guy but he's not doing it to be pervy. I could see him guiding a woman like that.
The other day he told me a story about how he went to apologize to a female coworker who was super ticked about something and he put his hands on her shoulders to attempt a sincere apology. She thought he was trying to hug her and apparently it turned into a very uncomfortable moment. The next day everyone was making fun of him about it. I told him to stop touching women! Not because I think he's hitting on them but because it's unprofessional. He thinks he's being a warm and friendly Southern gentleman, but he doesn't get that other people are not just like him. |
| I would be uncomfortable too, but I'm a weirdo with a very large personal bubble. I am absolutely not huggy or touchy feely. Unless you're my husband. |
| For the people saying that this is just a gentlemanly thing to do, I disagree. I'm generally a gentlemanly guy, raised in the south in a formal way. I open doors for women (and men), let women get into/out of elevators first, etc. I would never touch another woman's lower back. That's not gentlemanly. I've never even seen that. Now I don't necessarily think it's nefarious or wildly inappropriate. Some people are just more prone to touching others, both men and women. |
Wow! You need some therapy to get over this. You think men rape women all the time? You've really bought into some extreme propaganda. I sincerely hope you don't speak for all women when you say they have fear every time a man makes contact with them. |
| Creepy |
Not that poster, but a rape occurs every two minutes in the U.S. It's frequent. The vast majority of men are not rapists, but nobody knows who is a rapist until it happens. |
And there's that extreme propaganda. |
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Women have touched me on the arm or shoulder many times during a conversation. I guess in some instances it could have meant something more than geniality, but most of the time that's all it is. I can't remember a woman touching my lower back, but then that would require a rather awkward reach during a conversation.
If your colleague does it again and it makes you uncomfortable, just tell him in a nice way that you'd prefer he didn't do so again, maybe something about being very into your personal space. If he is otherwise a decent person as far as you know, making this out to be part of rape culture is bonkers. |