It’s a common Italian gesture of friendship to kiss each other on the cheek.
But I just find it wierd whenever a guy who’ve I met for the first time, (like Cart’s or my in-law’s friends) start to stroke my cheek, or my chin. It’s odd because firstly, I’m a grown woman, not a child. And secondly, I’ve had a phobia of someone touching my face for the longest time since I was a teenager because of my bad case of acne.
But normally, these people don’t mean any harm and think that they are being gallant or exude their Southern Italian charm and so I had to fight very hard internally not to freak out.
Usually for me when it’s my first time meeting people, I would only give a handshake. I don’t know if this makes someone ‘see’ the distance I have with new people. I’ve never come across someone touching my chin or cheek.. I would freak out and I don’t like someone touching my face with their ‘full of germs’ hands 🙁
I don’t like strangers touching my face either! I’ll cry if a pimple suddenly appears after they touched it!
Is this cheek caressing thing done between men as well? Or is it reserved for women?
Older women sometimes stroke men’s cheeks too. To them, the men will always be children, regardless of their age :p