I have no fear of judgement but I have only shared with likeminded friends because I use my discernment. I'd say about 4 guys. I've also posted the site link in Telegram groups.
Be smart OP, once you get something out there it’s out there. What you do behind closed doors is your business and some things are meant to stay our business. Talk about the weather, the game on Sunday or something like that with your buddies. Be vigilant and stay safe.
Soon I'm sure I'll be talking about it with my parents. I invited a cuddler over when I went there for Chanukah. He made it a much better time than it would have been otherwise. But I know how my parents like to assume things. Hopefully it won't take too long to explain that it's all platonic (which we did mention when they asked how we met) and he's not a boyfriend.
Lol! Well, in the beginning when I joined up I talked to my son and my mother about it...
My son "assumed" that I was looking to "get married again" which made me throw up in my mouth a little...🤢🤢🤢
NO SON, NO!😑 That is NOT what PLATONIC means... 🤨🙄😒
Yeah, it was a good talk that we had about it that day.😁😄
My mother's response was "I wouldn't even deal with that sh💩t", in her defense it's TRUE that my mother DOESN'T deal with a lot of sh💩t: Literally or Metaphorically! 😄💩😄💩
But in the end, I joined and stuck around Cuddle Comfort anyway.😁🫂
No one in my circle of friends knows that I do this from time to time.If they ever did find out I'd probably become the punchline to a joke or pitied because I'm paying good money to cuddle with someone I met online.
Now that I've been here for 8 yrs and have met so many people, my friend group literally consists predominately of people from the site so it's safe to say that most of my friends know I cuddle
Mostly stern warnings and now I have built In security... 🤦🏼♀️ I'm not supposed to take let my best friend be in the parking lot so I he can sit in his truck in case something so go wrong. Not a bad deal considering all that could go wrong. My other best friend was scared but when I told her about my experience she wanted to do it as well.
I tell just about anyone and everyone about what I do. From my family and friends to the Lyft driver lol. It's important to stop stigmatizing something that is a platonic service that benefits large amounts of people in our community. There is nothing inherently wrong with needing touch and connection in our lives.
I was more SA'd and harassed in every other type of work I have ever done combined more than I ever have had issues in the 7 years I have been doing platonic touch cuddles.
This is, primarily, a kind and like-minded community of people who get that connection comes in many forms and do respect boundaries once voiced.
Feeling shameful over something that is completely natural to want and need in our lives is not 'normal' even if we live in a society that thinks it is something to be shameful about.
Only through courage and acceptance has anything radical or practical through history has stuck around or become a new way of thinking and living our lives, authentically and honestly.
Own your truth, speak your mind.
And even if others do not get it, guess what? It's not their business. nor is it their happiness that should sway your decisions in life, your well-being is yours alone to dictate what is best for you.
Happy cuddling. 💓
From a male client perspective, aka me, NO! I fear the lack of understanding points to desperation, and maybe it is
I'm a caregiver for the elderly. One of my clients worked with Masters in Johnson and she and her husband were both relationship and sex therapists. I thought I would chat with her a little bit about platonic cuddling and she called the home office and requested that I do not talk about my second job with her. She must have found it pretty taboo because she wouldn't tell my company what second job it was that I was discussing.
I don't have a problem telling friends or co- workers. And my daughter knows although she thinks it's weird. Yeah you have some close minded ones who think it's a scam or about sex. The other day I was hanging out with a friend and I happened to mention something that occurred with one of my clients... he immediately busted out laughing and said I just don't see how guys can pay for that. I ended up later briefly giving him a mini session as he laid his head in my lap. When i asked him how he felt he said amazing.. my response was "now that's what guys are paying for" He totally gets it now lol. I usually tell the naysayers ...don't knock it till you try it.
I have only told a few. I assumed they'd understand how it works and described it as therapeutic and not sexual. Similar to like a message therapist that a close family friend is. But for some reason it didn't work out even though they know I'd never use online dating sites even since I like the traditional approach. But that is on me though for sharing. I've learned through years that anyone else like even if a sibling (male or female) would do cuddle therapy or message therapy they would just say it is cool. But if I say I do it then they all freak out. So I rather keep it to myself. Too many hypocrites around anyway.
I've told all my close friends and family members (including my kids, who are older). They may not all understand, but get that it's an actual thing and appreciate why I do it....and why people come to me for cuddle therapy. 🤗🤗
I wasn't sure about telling people at first, but I'm proud of what I do and that it helps people....and want others to know about this super healthy form of therapy that can work wonders for some. Plus, I agree about normalizing platonic touch and that everyone should stop being so weird about it. 😎😁
The ones who are the most fascinated are my therapist and my migraine doctors tho! They're always asking questions like curious kids learning that dinosaurs existed or something 🤣
I am an advocate for platonic touch, I talk to people about it any chance I get! The reactions I get range from laughter (usually followed by the 'oh, you're serious' face), questions about how it works, and people who want me to know that would and could NEVER cuddle with strangers because it's gross! I like to help people realized the benefits, I get converts sometimes. For me the worst reaction is someone who asks no questions but immediately goes into judgement because they assume that it is a form of s*x work and don't want to know anything more. And don't believe me when I reiterate that it is platonic. Nothing wrong with SW but please keep it out of these safe spaces, we are trying to build something here.
Someone mentioned it to me the other day in conversation and after discussing it a little I “fessed up” and said that i had been cuddling since last year.
She wanted to try it so we’ve now cuddled a few times. She said she really enjoys it and sees the appeal but isn’t sure she’d be open to someone she didn’t already know. She’s not sure she wants to join a website and “throw herself out there” but I’ve encouraged her to be open to it.
I almost didn’t tell her because I was concerned she’d think I was coming into her. It worked out this time.
I will say that I'm cautious about who I tell. Within my emediate family, my wife is the only one who knows I'm active in the cuddle community. I think in my case, because I'm married, there can be much more misunderstanding. One person who really surprised me, was a lady in a group I play some music giggs with. She's probably in her mid to late 70's. I don't remember how we got on the topic, but when I told her about cuddling, her whole spirit lightened. Now that I think about it more, we had shared a hug and I had complimented her on it. Of course when we were finishing our discussion, she immediately asked me for another hug. She refered to cuddlers as professional huggers.
I would keep things to yourself. This site and it's users are great but this is not reality.
Read the comments in other threads from the women about how their female freinds feel about the issue. Then I want you to think about how much worse it will be when you tell your male friends you cuddled with a woman who had no intention of having sex with you. We'll leave out the added insult of sometimes paying a woman for cuddling with no sex involved.
You might get genuine acceptance. Or your reputation amongst your peers takes a huge hit. What is the more likely scenario?
Marcustanaka and Amortentia hit the nail on the head with this one. There are a whole lot of self-righteous hypocrites out there with God only knows what skeletons they have in their closet. Paying for intimacy with the preverbal "Happy Ending", is taboo enough in the eyes of most let alone without. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what most would think.
My buddy Rob is super supportive of me being here. He just wants me to be careful.
I talk to people who I know wouldn't judge and would be open to hearing about it
On a related note, there is definitely a strong current of thought these days that private lives should be public and fully open to scrutiny.
Call it a product of social media and the monetization of information that Google and Meta have done to us (“when something is free you’re the product”).
I think for some, cuddling, as it has nothing wrong with it, and is ultimately a healthy and beneficial activity “deserves to be in the public space”. But for others, it’s definitely a private activity that doesn’t need a spotlight. It’s personal and meaningful.
I’d just say there is no shame or criminality in being private, nor is there virtue in living online.
It’s a personal choice that should be respected.
Cuddling could easily fall on both sides of this line, as many have an activist and advocate mentality around it, and others feel it is personal and only to be shared intentionally.
Other than my wife, who knows I do it I have talked with two people about it a few years ago when I was still working. I didn’t tell them to what extent I have done it and it’s not like I have done it a whole lot such as using a site like this to possibly find someone and it’s not like I have done it with a whole lot of people. The one person thought it was cool, but it was nothing that he would be interested in trying with someone. The other person I discussed it with I guess in a way has done it without going into full detail. If I were to discuss it with anyone, and if they knew the lifestyle that my wife and I are in this would be pretty tame.🤣