hand holding.

[Imogen]

ok this has been driving me crazy.

what is the big deal about holding hands? go.

[bobtheenchantedone]

You get physical contact without coming close enough to be susceptible to sonic hip attacks.

Also, you don't get lost in large crowds.

[thebigcheese]

Physical contact. Also, our culture has built it up to indicate a budding relationship, thus it is a symbol. Excitement ensues.

(And M&M's too!)

[Yarjka]

Sweaty palms are hot.

[Unit of Energy]

I think that it means more to some people than others. It implies a certain familiarity and comfort with a person. This morning at work I was telling about sitting next the guy I'm interested in when we went with a group to see Inception and a co-worker asked if we held hands. We did not, because while I'm not opposed to the idea we've only been on one date that I'm not even sure counts as a date. There are instances where hand holding means nothing at all, such as helping someone up when they fell, ice skating, and arm wrestling.

[ahem.]

what is the big deal about holding hands? go.

In general, or for Mormons?

[NerdGirl]

I've always just thought hand-holding was kind of awkward and not at all romantic.

[Laser Jock]

You get physical contact without coming close enough to be susceptible to sonic hip attacks.

Um, what? I can't even fathom what "sonic hip attacks" are. But they probably have nothing to do with my favorite Sega character.

[krebscout]

Is it any weirder than smashing our mouths together?

Hands and lips have a lot of nerves, and thus are very sensitive to touch. Maybe that has something to do with it? In the meantime, they're both fun.

[Gimgimno]

Fluid exchange is all the rage! Wooo for swapping saliva!

[NerdGirl]

But the thing about kissing is that you don't generally multi-task when you kiss. If you're kissing someone, that's what you're doing. If you're holding hands with someone, you're probably also walking somewhere or sitting down watching some kind of entertainment, and the hand-holding is this thing that goes on in the background, and it's always awkward when someone wants to stop for whatever reason (like your arm just fell asleep) because what will the other person think if you stop, and it would be really weird to say, "Hey, I love holding your hand, but my hand just fell asleep so let's take a break". And it's not like you can say, "Hey, let's take a break from holding hands and do this other thing for a while," because you're already doing another thing! You're not just standing on the porch rubbing each other's forearms and having a good night hand-hold. Or maybe you are, in which case you're weird enough that you probably don't experience the feeling of awkwardness.

I do, however, think it's cute when old people hold hands, but they've probably been together for so long that there's no more awkwardness.

[bobtheenchantedone]

You get physical contact without coming close enough to be susceptible to sonic hip attacks.

Um, what? I can't even fathom what "sonic hip attacks" are. But they probably have nothing to do with my favorite Sega character.

I am referring to my dear Marduk's tendency, when we are walking with our arms around each other, to swing his hip into mine. Since he is a burly man and I am a small slip of a girl, he greatly knocks me off balance every time. If we hold hands, I get to enjoy being with him while at the same time having enough room to run away if necessary.

[Marduk]

I merely do it to exchange long protein strands. If you can think of a better way to do it, I'd like to hear it.

[Imogen]

what is the big deal about holding hands? go.

In general, or for Mormons?

for mormons. should've been more specific.

[thebigcheese]

I merely do it to exchange long protein strands. If you can think of a better way to do it, I'd like to hear it.

Hahaha, I totally forgot about this! Awesome.

Sweaty palms are hot.

Once upon a time, I pseudo-dated a guy who had a sweating problem. At first, I thought he was unconceivably nervous. But when I saw the sweat dripping off his palms, I realized that he had a problem. I think this is precisely why he never once held my hand.

Watching him eat a sandwich/hamburger with this dripping problem was a thoroughly stomach-twisting experience.

[Craig Jessop]

Watching him eat a sandwich/hamburger with this dripping problem was a thoroughly stomach-twisting experience.

Ew.

[Indefinite Integral]

I used to find hand-holding ridiculous, awkward, and just plan unnecessary in a relationship. I avoided holding hands at all costs despite being a huge fan of cuddling. I have had 3 previous boyfriends and NEVER wanted to hold their hands.

That all changed in the last month or so. I just started dating this guy and for some reason I absolutely love holding his hand. I don't know if it's just the opportunity to have a physical connection or if it is something physiologically different. I have had 3 previous boyfriends and never liked holding hands before. I think it's also nice in public where I feel other signs of affection are (in my opinion) inappropriate. In addition, somehow we've been able to make it non-awkward, even when multi-tasking while holding hands. I think I'll try and figure out why that is. Those results at a later date.

[krebscout]

for mormons. should've been more specific.

What do you mean? Like why is it such a big deal commitment-wise?

[Imogen]

for mormons. should've been more specific.

What do you mean? Like why is it such a big deal commitment-wise?

yeah. my outsider perception is that hand holding is a BIG DEAL, whereas i hold hands with lots of folks, male and female, and there is no expectation of anything. i'm very physically affectionate, but that's how i show my love to everyone. does that make sense?

[krebscout]

Just our culture, I guess. We're pretty prudish, as you may have noticed. Now I don't have any stats on this, but I have a hunch that the LDS Church/culture is one of the most effective non-forceful institutions around (at least in this country) for keeping kids in their pants until marriage. That has the flip side of making anything physical a BIG DEAL. Plus it's just an old-fashioned, conservative value, and a lot of us have a lot of those.

Mostly unrelated story: Senior year of high school, my group of friends adopted a Korean foreign-exchange student. One day at lunch my male friend was touching my hand for some reason or another, and the Korean girl slapped him and said, "Don't touch her! She's a virgin!"

It's just a cultural thing?