In Russia, it is now illegal for same - sex couples to hold hands and doing so can lead to imprisonment and hefty fines.5 In Nigeria, same -
sex couples holding hands can face up to 10 years in prison6 and in Uganda, similar displays of affection could lead to legal execution if a controversial bill is passed that allows «aggravated homosexuality» to be punished by death.7 Even without the risk of these extreme legal penalties, many same - sex couples avoid holding hands because they fear the potential repercussions from doing so in front of the wrong person at the wrong time.8 Such fears are not irrational.
Not exact matches
Things in the area are pretty LBGT - oriented, from affirming church to
sex shops, and enough gay
couples holding hands that, in this area at least, we don't feel out of place.
In fact, a 2008 study found that
couples who reported any kind of marital intimacy — everything from
holding hands to
sex — exhibited lower levels of a hormone produced by stress.
The public smiles sweetly upon husbands and wives who
hold hands, embrace and even kiss in public There are singles dating Know that most gay and lesbian
couples feel they have to think twice before doing what comes naturally Since birth, they've been taught and shown that affection between same -
sex partners is «gross» or «disgusting» It's difficult to shake those lessons
When I inquired more closely about why they'd come to see me, Elvera dropped her bombshell: this
couple was quite literally «out of touch» with each other — they hadn't
held hands, hugged, placed a companionable
hand on the other's arm, kissed, or had
sex in more than four years.
There has been an apparent surge in violent responses to same -
sex couples who display affection in public (such as
holding hands or kissing).
Do both types of
couples experience health benefits as a result of
holding hands, or do same -
sex couples have more difficulty in accessing potential health benefits due to the stigma associated with same -
sex physical affection?
A number of male same -
sex couples have been attacked in NYC while
holding hands, some even in broad daylight in areas of the city known to be gay - friendly.
Although same -
sex couples who avoid
holding hands may be missing out on some of the positive benefits of shared physical affection, same -
sex couples who DO
hold hands may experience conflicting emotions, such that an activity that is supposed to reduce their stress responses actually creates a stressful situation!
As part of a series of three studies on public displays of affection in same -
sex couples, I'll be examining the physiological responses to
hand holding in both mixed -
sex and same -
sex couples.
Researchers timed how long it took 11 heterosexual
couples (22 total participants) to walk around a track by themselves, next to their romantic partners,
holding their partner's
hands, with same -
sex friends, and with opposite -
sex friends.