Proxemics
At one point, one of the policemen from Winston-Salem asked a reporter if it was OK to pat Latino people in the back, you know, to show them that the police got their body language covered.
Nooooooo!!!
Latinos are not more physical than the rest. Or we are, but not with the police!
I found this little description of Proxemics at the imponderable Kottke, and of course I had to think about the tremendous cultural differences that I have found here, coming form a Latinamerican country.
Personal space is defined by which allows to interact with our acquaintances, and in that respect it is important, but as well the interruption of that space to signal intentions and acknowledge the other person signify as much, in that they change and allow for others to interpret our meaning and intentions.
It is not only the space that we protect, but how according to formalities we do allow others to cross that space, and how we answer to those.
In this case, think for example about the usual greeting for a group of friends, all hugging each other and allowing themselves to relax, a little laugh, a jostle for space so I can talk around here. On the other hand, try to get somebody you don't know to give you a hug the first time they meet you. Not fucking likely, I agree.
Think about formalized close encounter places, such as the salsa dance floor, where you are going to get in close proximity to people you don't know, and most likely you don't want to touch – again, here the physical contact is approved within the context of the dance, and any other thang that may happen meanwhile (think aroused male) is simply and politely ignored. Denial, we are good at that.
Proximity is both conversation and invitation, and also the ability to indicate how sophisticated you are.
But Kottke seems obsessed with personal space these days.