No Touchie Blog
Browse by topic →Practical guides on personal space, boundaries, and the situations where they get ignored.
Posts
"I'm Just a Hugger" Is Not the End of the Conversation
The self-identification as a physically warm person functions as a social pass in a lot of contexts. Here's why it isn't one, and what it would actually look like to be a hugger who reads the room.
Networking Events and the Pressure to Be Physically Accessible
Handshakes, side-hugs, shoulder pats. How physical accessibility functions as a professional signal at networking events and what it costs people who don't want to perform it.
What Non-Verbal Signals About Personal Space Actually Look Like
The step back. The tension across the shoulders. The face that has gone still. What these signals communicate and how to tell who isn't seeing them from who is choosing not to.
The Open Office and What It Did to Personal Space
Open floor plans removed the structural protections that doors and walls used to provide. Here's what that costs and what you can actually do about it.
Public Transit and the Negotiation That No One Wants to Have
Crowded trains and buses create enforced proximity. What's unavoidable, what isn't, and what you can actually do about the latter.
What the Relationship Looks Like After the Conversation
Whether it went well or badly, the relationship continues. What the period after actually looks like, what shifts, and what's worth holding onto regardless of the outcome.
The Relative Who Always Touches Your Face or Hair
This specific kind of unwanted contact reads as affection to the person doing it. It doesn't always land that way. What to say to someone who genuinely means well.
The School Playground and Who Owns the Rules About Touch
Children touch each other constantly at school. Who's responsible for what gets named and corrected, and what parents can do when the school's approach doesn't match theirs.
When Someone Got the Message But Still Gets It Wrong Sometimes
Not every conversation produces instant change. The in-between period when someone is genuinely trying, means well, and still slips. How to handle it without either letting it slide or starting the whole conversation over.
Strangers Who Touch Pregnant Bellies
Why this happens, what assumptions drive it, and what the person being touched is allowed to do about it.
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.