The starting point is this. YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO TOUCH ME WITHOUT MY
CONSENT. This is actually the law - ANY unconsented to touching is
ASSAULT, and a crime (in some cases consent is implied, for example if you
are playing sports, you are consenting to contact w/in the boundaries of
the game, but you are not consenting contact outside of that, like a punch
in the face during a football game).
As it happens, I often dont want to be hugged or touched by strangers. When
I was at Catharsis, one of the Veterans there asked me very politely if it
would be ok if he gave me a hug. I said sure. I actually thought, wow, that
was nice. (and that this guy could teach some burners a thing or two about
consent.)
Of course, I am not equating unwanted hugs with rape (this shouldn't need
to be said, but i'm afraid it might). But the idea that someone else gets
to, or should be able to, decide whether they can touch my body, not me,
creates a slippery slope...and pisses me off.
This isn't about being "PC," this is about respecting my bodily integrity.
