It's not as simple as taboo body parts and non-taboo body parts. I don't think it can be broken down so easily as 'if we think the buttocks are offensive and yet can remove the taboo then seeing and touching said buttocks should be fine'. I mean, the touch taboo around breasts, genitals and buttocks also involves issues of consent, gender dynamics and sexual erogenous zones.
So if we took the taboo off body parts, does that mean it's okay to touch a child's genitalia as long as the adult and child know and trust each other? That could never, ever be acceptable. Because a child cannot consent to what is inherently sexual in nature. I mean, sure, you touch a child's genitals when they are incapable of cleaning themselves, when they're still in nappies and so on. But just touching for touching's sake? Wrong. And that has nothing to do with a 'taboo' around that body part, it has to do with what is acceptable to touch and what isn't.
The issue of consent extends into adulthood. What about consent under duress? Power dynamics? A male boss says to a female employee 'we like and trust one another, so let's get rid of this social taboo and touch each other intimately'. There is the possibility of a power dynamic swaying the female employee's answer... if she doesn't consent, will her job be endangered? Will her employer make life difficult for her if she says no?
Personally, I don't like to be touched. Strangers bumping into me is an extremely uncomfortable experience. I've learned to tolerate everyday, generic social touching - shaking hands with a stranger, hugging a friend or getting a pat on the shoulder. It still makes me uncomfortable, even though I've prepared myself when I saw the gesture coming. When people touch me unexpectedly, or I don't see it about to happen, I'm extremely uncomfortable, anxious and unhappy about it. If someone (even a person I knew and liked) were to declare that touching my breasts was only inappropriate because of social taboos and then tried to touch my breast, I would lose my shit completely. Why? Because that's something only a lover is allowed to do with me. It's about the sexual nature of that body part. My breast is an erogenous zone, as are my genitals and buttocks. I don't care about whatever social taboo says that I can't walk around topless. It's not about the possible 'offensiveness' of certain body parts. It's about what that touch means.
Touching children's genitals is innapropriate because of issues of consent and the inherent sexual nature of the act. The exact same is true of me, an adult. It doesn't matter how 'polite' the nature of the touch is. It's how the act can and is interpreted.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2008-04-25 06:52 am (UTC)So if we took the taboo off body parts, does that mean it's okay to touch a child's genitalia as long as the adult and child know and trust each other? That could never, ever be acceptable. Because a child cannot consent to what is inherently sexual in nature. I mean, sure, you touch a child's genitals when they are incapable of cleaning themselves, when they're still in nappies and so on. But just touching for touching's sake? Wrong. And that has nothing to do with a 'taboo' around that body part, it has to do with what is acceptable to touch and what isn't.
The issue of consent extends into adulthood. What about consent under duress? Power dynamics? A male boss says to a female employee 'we like and trust one another, so let's get rid of this social taboo and touch each other intimately'. There is the possibility of a power dynamic swaying the female employee's answer... if she doesn't consent, will her job be endangered? Will her employer make life difficult for her if she says no?
Personally, I don't like to be touched. Strangers bumping into me is an extremely uncomfortable experience. I've learned to tolerate everyday, generic social touching - shaking hands with a stranger, hugging a friend or getting a pat on the shoulder. It still makes me uncomfortable, even though I've prepared myself when I saw the gesture coming. When people touch me unexpectedly, or I don't see it about to happen, I'm extremely uncomfortable, anxious and unhappy about it. If someone (even a person I knew and liked) were to declare that touching my breasts was only inappropriate because of social taboos and then tried to touch my breast, I would lose my shit completely. Why? Because that's something only a lover is allowed to do with me. It's about the sexual nature of that body part. My breast is an erogenous zone, as are my genitals and buttocks. I don't care about whatever social taboo says that I can't walk around topless. It's not about the possible 'offensiveness' of certain body parts. It's about what that touch means.
Touching children's genitals is innapropriate because of issues of consent and the inherent sexual nature of the act. The exact same is true of me, an adult. It doesn't matter how 'polite' the nature of the touch is. It's how the act can and is interpreted.