March 07, 2005

On Being Comfortable with One's Masculinity

It was a little bit of a shock when I first saw two young men holding hands in the street. They were talking animatedly and one of them put his arm around the other one's waist and grabbed his hand with the other. I shrugged it off and continued on my way. I have since seen many men holding hands in the street--it is said that people who are very close friends express their closeness in this way. Similarly, when someone that you know well shakes your hand, he/she will frequently take your elbow with his/her other hand to show the connection between you is strong.

It seems that men in the United States are so worried about appearances that they avoid any sort of contact with their male friends, lest their sexual orientation be put into question (oddly enough, it is OK to be physical when drunk or when having fun tackling your friend to the ground).

Are you confident with your masculinity?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes I am, but I still don't want to touch any yucky guys :) I might get cooties.
-Ammo

007 in Africa said...

ROTFL...Guys are pretty yucky aren't they? Now remind me why we date boys again?

Anonymous said...

Beats me, you tell me :) I suspect it's because girls are crazy!

Anonymous said...

Beats me, you tell me :) I suspect it's because girls are crazy!

Beaver said...

Men... Can't live with them, can't shoot them (it's illegal...) but the truth is even scarier: we need to reproduce... eeek !

kimikimikimi said...

I remember seeing the same thing in India. At first I thought, "wow, they sure have 100% tolerance for homosexuality here. how nice." Yes, my western perceptions cling ever so tightly.