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The Etiquette of the Victorian Handshake: Advice on Opposite Sex Greetings
- heheocoenev 9y agoHugs are more hygenic than handshakes. Hug greeting for the 21C!
- rqtaylor 9y agoFist bumps > handshakes https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/fist-bump-better-handshake-cleanliness-201407297305 https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/fist-bump-better-handsha...
- waterhouse 9y agoI'm not sure if I can find a direct citation, but Penn & Teller have said that rubbing butts is more sanitary than shaking hands, and that they'd be happy for fans to greet them that way.
- vikiomega9 9y agolol http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Namaste-hygiene-bye-handshake/articleshow/42658730.cms http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Namaste-hy...
- raghava 9y agoSimpler one with _zero_ contact! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namaste https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namaste
- pamqzl 9y agoIf you shake hands with an unsanitary person you can easily sanitise your hand. If you hug an unsanitary person you'll need a shower and a change of clothes. Plus there's the smell...
- ainiriand 9y agoIn many countries is common to kiss one, twice or even thrice!
- glandium 9y agoOr even four (in some parts of France at least)
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- norikki 9y agoDon't people think this is sexist? If men and women are equal shouldn't they be treated the same in all situations?
- lemonycracket 9y agoWomen are not equal. Despite what everyone wants you to believe
- cchurch 9y agoWhy does equality require a loss of chivalry? Equality does not mean we pretend people are completely uniform.
- kelnos 9y agoNo, but doesn't equality mean that we treat everyone in the same way, regardless of gender, for one thing?
- sattoshi 9y agoPeople aren't equal though. Coming from Russia, the West is really confused about what it wants. It seems to want chivalry plus equality minus morality. This desire is represented by factions who seem to work together on some level. The end result is a mess.
- Nomentatus 9y agoA mess the end result of which is that people here touch far more rarely than they did in Victorian times. Yet we know that rarely being touched in childhood is a strong risk factor for promiscuity later on. As for equality, women are far more at risk from sexual predation and assault; I don't think it's rude to let social customs reflect this by having them initiate touch, largely.
- lemonycracket 9y ago
- Tangurena2 9y agoThe author of this article writes Victorian romance fiction. It is not to be taken as advice for the modern reader. Unless you are a Steampunk cosplayer, or some sort of Neo-Victorian as appearing in The Diamond Age
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- PMan74 9y ago> In general, handshakes between men and women could only be initiated by the lady. Still the custom in the certain Muslim counties, you'll never get it wrong if you wait for the woman to offer.
- imartin2k 9y agoThe handshake is definitely one of the strangest social customs that exist. Like a stupid word which reveals its strangeness once you start thinking about it conciously, the handshake seems ridiculous in the moment one questions it.
- tjoff 9y agoHow is it strange? (I don't find it odd at all)
- TurboHaskal 9y agoI'm used to handshakes for non blood related males (friends, business contacts) and kisses in the cheeks for relatives and females. In Anglo-Saxon and Germanic countries women default to the handshake even outside of business settings. I find it odd and still have difficulties adjusting to that.
- imartin2k 9y agoHehe as someone from Germany living in Sweden, I find this constant cheek kissing with quasi strangers in Southern or Western Europe or the Spanish speaking world pretty akward. But I understand that it's feels normal to most who grew up with it.
- imartin2k 9y agoIt's strange because it's unhygenic but a strong "social lock in" makes it essentially impossible to abstain without sending the signal of being socially awkward. As a social construct, there'd be no need for going through the procedure, yet everyone basically has to go through it because everyone else does. Considering that there are plenty of cultures in which handshakes are not commom (like in many Asian countries), there doesn't seem to be any good justification why it's done elsewhere, other than "custom". But not every custom actually is reasonable.
- tjoff 9y ago
- _pmf_ 9y ago"Sweaty Palms, the startup that disrupts the personal greeting space by replacing the handshake with a block-chain based trust system that guarantees mutual agreeability in an safe and consistent manner." (ICO starting now, invest unless you want to risk being isolated for the rest of your life. In fact, also invest to safely opt out.)
- jandrese 9y agoName is too long for a modern startup, it needs to be something memorable like Palmr, Handi, or Shakr. If it doesn't look like your keyboard is missing some keys you are doing it wrong.
- roceasta 9y agoIsn't one of the reasons for handshakes thought to be to show that one isn't carrying a weapon? Since women aren't expected under most circumstances to go about armed, they have less reason to shake.
- drcross 9y agoI think, as modern humans, we try to retrofit these reasons on to old customs but I have a sense that a handshake is simply the most convenient expression to signify to a person that you have an inherent respect for them or recognise their value.