rachelalexis wrote:Awww! I'll be your hugging friend! *hugs*
Yeah, I'm big on hugging and physical contact in general. I don't think that there's anything innately sexual or wierd about hugging or putting your head on someone's shoulder and the like. But then that could have been in part because of my friends. We regularly leaned against each other while we were watching movies, played with each other's hair (nothing like a good "petting" to soothe you after a bad day) and had no problems sleeping in beds together (guys and girls) partially just for the comfort of having someone nearby.
Man, that sounds super wierd and sexualized when I type it out but it wasn't.
No, I completely understand! I remember sitting with a row of girls in first grade and playing with one another's hair. (Aside: I
love it when someone messes with my hair.
) The same in high school, although not so refined, we'd hug and have silly little touches (that were in no way to be perceived as sexual). But now, as you said, it's misconstrued as your sexual orientation!
rachelalexis wrote:I don't think I'll ever have those kind of friendships again. I think it's because they started when we were too young to think about sex in any way more than stupid jokes. So physical contact, whether between guys and girls or girls and girls, was never labelled as trying to do anything salacious. But now that we're grown every relationship has that undertone, and if you're a grown woman who's holding hands with another woman it's seen as a lesbian thing instead of just a companionship/friendship thing.
[/rant]
I never had that close of a relationship with boys when I was younger. Sure, I had friends who were boys but we never were allowed to hang out in that way. I really feel I've missed so much from that deprivation. Also, my parents were uber-strict and never let me have or attend sleepovers when I was younger. I know that affected me greatly because, when I first moved out, I was terrified to live on my own. I was so sheltered that I couldn't place myself anywhere but under my parents' roof.
But now I took us off tangent...
I'd hold your hand in public and I wouldn't care who noticed!
That's definitely something I miss about home. Having friends that can just look at you and know it's time to hug you or snuggle because you're having a bad day.
