Touching Behavior in Facebook Pictures – Gender Comparison in Malay Culture

Abstract

This research explored the patterns of touching behavior among Malays. A content analysis was done on respondents Facebook pictures using the body chart introduced by Jourard (1966). This research found that respondents’ hands, torso and shoulders are the most part touched by others either from the same or different sex. However, men are doing more touching compared to women and they show their superiority when taking pictures with their wife and kids. However this trend did not persist when it involves other women or friends from the same sex. Malay women exercise their touching more cautiously when it involves friends from different sex but relaxing their constraints when taking pictures with their husband and kids.

RESEARCH BACKGROUND

It is widely acknowledged that touch is a highly intimate and influential mode of interpersonal communication (Jones, 1986). This nonverbal action is a powerful means of communication, conveying emotions such as love, attraction, flirtation, or hostility. Studies show that where an individual is touched and who is doing the touching also contribute to the perception of the nonverbal messages (Lee & Guerrero, 2001).

Touch reduces social distance and often constitutes a declaration of intimacy. For this reason, touch is often regarded as an incursion upon one’s privacy by those who resent such intrusions (Montagu, 1983, p.131). However, the interpretation of the meaning of touch is strongly dependent on the culture. It is complicated by social norms regarding who has permission to touch whom and what is considered to be an appropriate context for such behavior (Heslin & Alper, 1983). What in one culture is treated as a friendly gesture can be taken as a flirting attempt in another, and as sexual harassment in yet another (Dalinski, 2010). According to Thayer (1990), a toucher has to be careful of culture’s narrowly prescribed limits, rules and constrains so that his/her touch is not misinterpreted even if it involves personal relationships. Heslin and Alper (1983) on the other hand posit that in order to reduce the uncertainty about who can touch whom and what it means, situations and relationships are used as cues to regulate the kind of touch that is to be expected.

           Through research, scholars have divided the world into contact cultures and noncontact cultures. Contact cultures are identified with a high touching rate even between strangers. This category includes the Mediterranean area, and Southern European. On the other hand, noncontact cultures involve low touching rates especially in public. Surprisingly United States is one of the noncontact cultures other than Northern European. In this culture people rarely touch each other in public except hitting and kissing. It is surprising to the researcher which is from Asian country as people from United States were known to be very open-minded and their religion does not inhibit touching between genders.