AS, Gender, and Physical Contact

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I'm just kind of curious as to whether or not there is any connection between gender and being touch-specific/inhibited. Not sex- if you have a different sex than gender, vote with your gender. Males seem to have less of a problem with this but I think I have to be wrong and there's no connection. Obviously this will not offer conclusive proof but I'm curious if there's any trend, or it's all in my head. I'm guessing a lot of people "on the spectrum" here, regardless of gender, do have some physical contact issues.

Also: I know this may go better in a different forum, but I'm unsure where. No forum is a perfect fit, so I figured I'd play it safe and put it in the general forum.

I rarely allow physical contact. It's not painful, but just feels annoying, usually like a chafing feeling. Sometimes I find myself in a position where I have to make physical contact, like times when it would be considered rude not to give smeone a hug. Being made to feel pressured to make physical contact seems rude to me, but I just use it as an opportiunity to see if they can naturally avoid triggering my aversion to touch. My mom can't pull this off, but my sister in law can.

I don't care if I get touched. But I only like to get touched by the right people. If the person that's trying to touch me is annoying or I just don't think much of them, i'll get annoyed and pull away.

I don't really know... I've had years where nobody would even stand in the same square of concrete as me on account of a rumour started by a bully that I had rabies...

Since nobody has had any reason to touch me, I haven't been able to explore it.

When I was in kindergarten, my teacher actually thought I was being abused at home because I would shrink away when she tried to touch my shoulder or something.

I'm not quite as sensitive to touch now, but I can only tolerate it from a few people I know well. And even then, I need to know it's coming (i.e. no tapping me on the shoulder from behind).

Edit- I should mention that while I despise being touched lightly, I LOVE cuddling and having my hair/scalp touched and rubbed.

Last edited by CleverCait on 12 Jul 2005, 1:25 am, edited 1 time in total.

I don't mind touch, but I don't often initiate it.
I'm also very ticklish.

i actually adore being touched, and crave it. but ONLY with specific persons. there are few of those. when i'm teaching little ones, it can be a bit disconcerting, as they all like me and are always flinging themselves at me to cuddle me. can be difficult for me. if i'm with a partner, though, i'm incredibly touchy feely.

Yes, I'm the same.

I'm with vetivert on this as well... and it can be a bit disconcerting being hugged and swung on by other people's kids. I don't always mind but sometimes have to shake them off if I really don't want to be touched that day. *shudders*

Oh man, I'm TERRIBLE at intitation, which sucks when you're trying to condition yourself to not be so hands-off. It's like, I can't use how I would react to being touched in a situation to guage if it's apppropriate- I'm totally in the dark!

I don't like to be touched by most people. If I know it's going to happen, then it's somewhat okay, depending on the circumstances. I really hate it when people bump me or touch my feet during swim practice.

I avoid touch wherever possible. I am sometimes considered 'stand-offish', but luckily, there aren't that many people who want to touch me. My reasons for not liking it are that it is too 'controlling' and coercive.

I think I generally am fairly 'off' with most people anyway; one of those personality traits I've come to accept which doesn't get me into too much trouble unless I am around other people.

I think older people generally are more stand-offish anyhow, we have probably formed our social circle and close ties and there is less need for the supposed 'reassurance' of tactile sensation. It is, after all, a very infantile thing to do and I make up for it in that department in several other ways. Besides all that, we weren't really a dreadfully tactile, touchie-feelie family, though interestingly, my two brothers are developing the habit for some strange reason that I can't think of.

That reminds me... when I was a younger pre-pubescent me, for some reason older girls would always come and rub up against me whenever I went swimming.

I'm still not really sure why. Heh, not that I'm complaining or anything...

Holy crap - you mean that there are girls who are even *more* perverted than I am?!

Well this is back when I was a kid, and they weren't much older- so I imagine it was fairly innocent. >_>

I live in an ice cube and very few people can melt through it.