@HealingSystem My dad went blind in his 40s. He had to develop his other senses to compensate. I am sure there are things you can sense much better than a sighted person. Do you ever notice a tone in a person's voice that makes you uncomfortable? Or another tone that connects with you and puts you at ease? Maybe you feel a person's face and notice their jaw clenches or their mouth smiles.
With sighted people, we rely more heavily on sight than any of the other 4 senses. We may not have a superpower to sense a person's personality from a picture, but seeing a face gives us a level of comfort and connection. Our brains instantly calculate 1000s of ratios between facial features. Science shows that babies
Being blind can make you vulnerable in certain situations. What helps YOU to feel comfortable when meeting a stranger for the first time in a completely vulnerable unknown surrounding like a strange house or hotel room?
@Gwynne42 I do recognize tone of voice yes. I've never really gotten a chance to feel someone's face though, so I've only felt my own, and it's difficult, because I don't know what different facial expressions feel like. But that's a whole different conversation.
The more I cuddle, the more I agree with CharlieBear and others. I have people post pics that look only slightly like them. I may start requesting video chat. I also like CB's suggestion of a pic with a date and both user names or OliveGreen's suggestion of holding a common object.
Kinda irritates me because I have plenty of pictures on the site. I always think they ask to just get a free photo.
if I ever have a cuddler that pushes my boundaries to the point of raping me, I at least have a name and photo to take to the police.
👍👍👍
@Sheena123 Yep! I have read about a lot of sexual assaults happening these days. So, photo sharing is necessary and one of my Safety Protocols. If you can't accept and respect my Safety Protocols then we're not meeting and definitely not cuddling.😌
I don’t blame anyone for requesting photos, it makes a lot of sense and nobody needs to justify the request for a photo prior to meeting.
@JohnR1972 👍👍👍
As you can see, I do not include a picture with my initial public profile. I understand that might mean I miss some potential cuddlers, but I'm okay with that. Once I establish basic communication with a prospective cuddle buddy, I gladly offer a picture (more than one if they request). If I provide them with a picture of me, I expect they will reciprocate. That said, I have never refused a cuddle session due to how someone looks. I've cuddled young and old (I think my oldest cuddle was 80), thin and overweight (my youngest cuddle also happened to be my heaviest - over 300 lbs. She was a repeat cuddle, too. Come to think of it, virtually all my cuddlers have been repeat cuddlers). But I digress.
As with many of the discussions in these forums, requesting/providing a picture is a personal decision. But if a potential cuddler requests a photo and you refuse, don't get bent out of shape if they choose not to pursue a session with you.
I ask for pictures as part of my safety protocol and it’s pretty important to me to exchange photos early on. If I ever have any questions about someone I ask to video chat with them and that will generally turn off the time wasters.
It’s most definitely for safety. It doesn’t ensure much other than having a way to positively ID who you’re meeting and that they’re at least somewhat honest. I personally do not judge anyone by their looks alone as a pro I feel like it’s important to be not be vain when being paid for a service. Although I will say that’s it’s interesting I never thought about missing out on visual judging has a blind person. While you can not fully judge someone off of looks you can definitely get a sense from how they present themselves that could imply certain personality traits
I am willing to share my pic in public
Notice my biological self-control in the pic? I broke the lead in my pencil.
@HealingSystem I wish you the best of luck here on the site! I have a blind friend that I first met through cuddling and also let him feel my face. He had shared a pic and I described myself and talked to him for a while so we were both comfortable before we met.
I know this sounds awful, but unfortunately this does happen. A person will get banned from the site for inappropriate behavior. The person simply then creates a new account with either no photo or a photo of someone else. If a person doesn’t have a photo, or has a very new account with one photo, some professionals will ask the client to send a selfie holding a sign with both the client’s and professional’s username printed on it. This will greatly increase the odds that the person you are meeting with is not a fake account after being banned. And as stated below - professionals will often share the photo with a Safety Buddy. The photo is always deleted after the session.