On Creeps and unwelcome touching: my 2 cents

I've been surfing through the Don't-be-a-creep stuff recently, and one thing that comes up over and over again is unwelcome touch.

Thinking about this: in a gaming or con atmosphere, I've never (in my admittedly-bad memory) felt I couldn't say "don't touch me," although I recall some negative reactions when I did so - because I'm a very tactile person as was often touching other people

Sideline: Have you noticed people tend to take "you did x with Y" to mean "you should do x with Me?" Very irritating.

My problem with unwelcome touch has almost always been in the workplace, where the reaction to telling people you don't like being touched (I don't, by strangers. I like touching my friends) is almost always hurt-offended-negative or, on rarer occasion, hurt-belittling. (I got him in trouble for that and other comments. It says something about our society that the two times I've done that, I felt really guilty).

How do you deal with touch in public/work situations? Why do people think it's okay?

Summer off the Half-Shell, a continuation of Stranded World for the July Giraffe Call

For eseme's free 500-word continuation of Summer on the Half-Shell


“And that’s the last touches. For real this time.”

He stepped away from the painting and caught Summer as she stumbled. “Hey, you’ve been a champ. You should do this for the art classes; they pay pretty well.”

She leaned in his arms, not minding the warm or the support, or even the silly-swooning-girl feeling of him catching her. “Petie, nobody but you could get me to hold still for that long. Nobody but you could get me to hold still for more than two minutes.”

He kissed her neck, just under her ear. “Normally, having you holding still while nearly-naked is the last thing on my mind.” His arms slid up her torso, but, on automatic pilot, she deflected them.
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