Do perfect strangers touch you?

[LailaK]

I've been going out to parties, bars, beer and food festivals, football/hockey/baseball games, you name it with a good girl friend of mine. We'll usually meet up with co-workers and have a great time. The goal is not to meet that special someone it's just to meet a bunch of new San Franciscans and have a lot of fun.

I really enjoy it because I'm literally meeting new people every week. Usually I hang out with the same few people doing very closed off things like movies, dinner, rock climbing, etc. so these new group activities are fun for me.

I've noticed something that I've never noticed before. Perfect strangers tend to touch me within moments of meeting me. It's not inappropriate touching. It's an arm around the shoulder, a hand at my waist usually. It doesn't bother me (much) but it does strike me as something a friend would do, not something a stranger would do.

It happens pretty often and at first I chalked it up to flirting but I've had a few women come up and put their arm around me too. Yesterday at beerfest, a guy walked up to our group, planted himself next to me, grabbed me by the waist, carried on with a 2 minute conversation with everyone in the group except for me, and then walked away without acknowledging my presence. It couldn't have been flirting because he didn't even say anything to me.

Later that night, at a bar, I was sitting there waiting for my friends to come back with our drinks and this really cute guy walks past me, leans over, and taps me on the knee with his water bottle. Then he continues walking away. I tried to catch his eye but he ignored me for the rest of the night.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?! Do I give off some type of vibe that says "Ok to touch."? I'm not really bothered by it. I find it amusing, but I would like to know why people do it. I would never dream of touching/hugging a perfect stranger.

[vashti]

People touch me a lot, too. I don't know why. and sometimes, it IS inappropriate.

[LailaK]

I've only ever been touched inappropriately in nightclubs. Usually it happens and I yell out "Hey!? What the F*ck!?" and my guy friends are ready to handle the culprits rudeness.

[vashti]

I sometimes get touched inappropriately at work. It happens frequently enough that I don't get hysterical about it. (Well, I WAS taken a bit aback when a woman grabbed my vagina, but usually a a boob-grabbing or an ass-smacking by an old man with dementia, and I just calmly remove their hand and carry on.)

I got grabbed when I was young, though, too. As a teenager, my boob was grabbed as i walked down the street minding my own business, and someone grabbed my ass on a crowded bus.

For some reason, the freaks have always loved me.

[Cyberpunk85]

Maybe you're dressing too skanky and are like an open invitation.

[LailaK]

^^^ I do not dress like a skank. I've been accused of being a hipster for the way I dress but never a skank.

Vashti, no one has ever touched me the way strangers touch you. That's shocking. I'll never again complain about some stranger putting their arm around my shoulder.

[vashti]

Maybe you're dressing too skanky and are like an open invitation.

Yeah, that must be it. My scrubs are super-sexy. haha!

[Cyberpunk85]

yeah, that must be it. My scrubs are super-sexy. Haha!

helloooooooooooooo nurse

[Sonrisa]

i think people are afraid of me except for the married guy.