4 Biggest Misconceptions You Have About People Who Hate Physical Affection
Don't touch!
getty For some odd reason, there are more people in the world who like to touch, hug, and cuddle people constantly. Even people they don’t really know. And these people just don’t understand people who don't like those things. Girls who are not very touchy-feely are viewed as unapproachable people who will be alone the rest of their lives.
But that’s not the truth.
The truth is, we're approachable by other means and all we want is for people to understand that we're not cold-hearted, we just prefer showing affection in other ways than physical touch.
So just to set the record straight, here are some clarifications about the most common misconceptions about people who don't like affection.
1. We're too sensitive.
We're not, we just prefer a different form of affection. A smile or a simple head nod can go a long way with us.
We get very uncomfortable when we're touched, whether is a light tap on the back or a full-blown hug. We prefer people kept their hands to themselves and check for any cues from us to see if we're okay to proceed with any physical proximity.
2. We don’t like hugs.
We love hugs. But we actually value them. We don’t feel the need to hug you every time we see you. Because we see you every day. And to us the more we hug, the less meaningful the hug becomes.
When we really need one, we’ll ask.
3. We suck at flirting.
Quite the contrary — we just flirt with our eyes. While we’re awkward and may run away if a guy lightly caresses our elbow, we don't shy away from looking at someone in the eyes.
4. We hate cuddling.
Most of the time? Yes. But when it’s with the right person, at the right moment, we actually enjoy it. As long as there’s no one falling asleep on top of us, we most definitely enjoy the occasional cuddle time.
Carrie Wittmer is a Brooklyn-based comedy writer, satirist, and comedian who is scared of loud improv groups. You can find her work in McSweeney’s, Refinery29, Robot Butt, Business Insider, and some other really, really, really cool places on the Internet. She does stand-up when she’s not too tired and has more grey hair than her mom. Follow her on Twitter, Medium, and Instagram.