Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index Physical intimacy in increasing degree is: physical closeness touching, especially tenderly, e.g. holding hands hugging: gently enclosing the arms around the trunk of each other sitting or lying against each other caressing: gently stroking body parts or hair with a hand cuddling back rub and massage kissing touching intimate parts, outercourse sexual penetration Sexual behavior involves physical intimacy. A personal relationship that does not involve sexual behavior, e.g. friendship, may involve physical intimacy. This varies greatly. In western culture it is often more among female than among male friends; the latter may want to avoid associations with homosexuality. In other cultures, such as Arab culture, men may hold hands with no implication of homosexuality. A man and a woman who are friends may avoid physical intimacy to avoid associations with sexuality (for example if one or both have a relationship with someone else). Physical closeness may also be unvoluntary, as in a crowded train or elevator. An intermediate form of voluntariness is when one goes to a crowded place for entertainment: a bar, disco, pop concert, street festival, etc. International Hug Day is on 4 December. See also: Kruibeke, Jealousy Physical intimacy between a human and an animal may involve petting (caressing), hugging and playing. Also a person, especially a child, may caress and hug a teddy bear or doll. There are also sex dolls, as a surrogate for a person. Other kinds of intimacy are: emotional intimacy: telling about emotions, knowing and feeling what the other feels financial unity, sharing property, community-property This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.