No Touchie Blog
Browse by topic →Practical guides on personal space, boundaries, and the situations where they get ignored.
Posts
When You're the Adult Child Who Still Gets Grabbed
Growing up doesn't automatically end the family patterns around touch that started when you were small. Here's what it takes to actually change them.
The Arm-Grabber: When Touch Is Used to Make a Point
The person who grabs your arm or wrist mid-conversation for emphasis. A specific form of unwanted contact that often happens too fast to address in the moment.
The Colleague Who Doesn't Read the Step-Back
Non-verbal signals are clear if you're looking for them. What to do when the person you're dealing with isn't, and words become necessary.
Why "In Their Culture, Touch Is Normal" Doesn't Settle It
Cultural norms around physical contact are real and worth understanding. They don't override what the person in front of you has said they want.
The Family Friend Your Child Has Already Said No To
Not a relative, not a stranger. The family friend who's around often enough to matter and still doesn't get it. What to do when the situation requires more than hope.
The Friend Who Is More Physical Than You Are
When one person in a long friendship is naturally tactile and the other isn't, the conversation either happens at some point or it gets managed around indefinitely.
The Generational Gap: Why Different Rules Seem to Apply
Older relatives and colleagues operate from assumptions about touch that were socialized differently. Understanding why doesn't make the contact okay, but it does affect what you can expect from a conversation.
The Greeting Kiss: How to Opt Out Without Reading as Hostile
Cheek kisses function as a default greeting in certain social circles. What to do when that default doesn't work for you.
How to Help Your Child Use Their Voice in the Moment
Knowing they can say no is different from being able to say it when an adult is standing in front of them expecting a different answer. The practical version.
The Holiday Gathering and the Relatives Who Don't Take No for an Answer
Every year, same relatives, same problem. How to prepare for it, handle it in the moment, and not spend the whole drive home regretting what you didn't say.
Articles covering personal space at work, in families, and around children. The situations that come up again and again, and what it looks like to actually handle them.