Don't worry, this is just my good friend, Bob, holding hands with a friend (apparently a very good friend) in Ethiopia. It's just part of their culture. It's interesting to think about physical affirmation and the place it has in our different cultures. In America it's ok to give the token "good game" (a.k.a. pat on the butt) during sporting events. It's alright to give a man hug as well (usually with a corresponding three pats on the back, signify "I'm not gay."). However, in Japan they don't give hugs at all (at least from my observation). At any rate, this picture just made me think about the whole physicality of cultures thing. Personally, I think physical affirmation is important to caring for others and being cared for. Let me hear your thoughts. In the meantime I'll be holding hands with my lovely wife...
1 comment:
Yes - I truly missed the physical affection that was culturally appropriate in China. When window shopping, my friends and I would hold hands. In fact, after two years living there, we Americans did it without thinking! (Carol (Sauressig) and I did!) :-) It was perfectly okay to touch people of the same gender in friendship. Even though it is more culturally appropriate for women to touch in the States, I still find that touch is one of the things I miss about China. (Oddly enough, hugs are incrediabily rare. A friend asked me to hug her when we said goodbye at the end of my two years, and she said that was the first hug she had ever recieved.) I'm glad in live in the same town with my parents. They are very reliable "hug suppliers!"
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