hugs and cuddles

I'm very positive about the value of hugs and cuddles and have written about it here before. There are some particularly interesting comments and discussion from visitors to the blog on the posts 'hugs heal' and 'bondage and hugs' - and also on the post 'touch'.

I have been reminded about this recently by a couple of things.

Firstly I came across an announcement by a new member of Fetlife that he was offering cuddles as a paid service. This amused me because many, many years ago as part of some banter on a messageboard I offered the same service as a joke and even set up a simple website. I think it was 'Hubert Hugs Inc' and was all very tongue in cheek. It created a very humorous thread and that was just about the end of it. So I was very interested to see that someone actually seemed to be offering this service for real and wondered if that was a joke too. You can see one of his ads here.

I sent him a message, telling him about Hubert. He wrote back to say that not only was it not a joke but that he was doing well. He wrote,
"I'm actually doing OK. I get about 3 meets a week mainly from instagram unfortunately they deleted my profile. I did have 11k followers. I have regulars but they tend to be once a month. I've limited the area I travel now as well which has had a knock on effect. I'm sure I'll pick up a few more clients on here."

Then a few days ago I saw an article in the Guardian newspaper. You can read it here. It describes services offered by a new company Nordic Cuddle. They offer cuddles with a variety of "cuddle practitioners" from £65 for an hour. They make many claims for the outcomes of such sessions for your general wellbeing and health. The sessions are described as totally platonic with clear boundaries which can be adapted to individuals.

Now when does a hug turn into a cuddle? And when does a cuddle become slightly more than "platonic"? The Guardian writer describes how in his session,
"She holds my hand as we talk. Then we try a standing hug, breathing in unison. She strokes my back. After a while, we move on to the bed. We try a few positions, her head on my chest, then mine on hers. There is full body squeezing, leg entwining, fingertip massage."

Now that seems to be becoming more sensual in nature - stroking, his head on her "chest", squeezing, leg entwining, fingertip massage. When does 'stroking' become 'caressing'? Leg entwining seems to be somewhat more than the platonic hugs that Hubert was offering!

When I was last in Berlin I noticed a cuddle event on Fetlife. It looked interesting. I like the idea of a group cuddle event. This one started with purely platonic cuddling but after a break turned into more sensual cuddling for those who wanted it. I would have liked to have gone but it clashed with other arrangements. It seems to have moved on a bit with the sensual and even kinky side. The next event is on Fetlife here.

There seem to be a number of other cuddle events across the world. For instance I noticed one in Perth, Australia and a commercial firm in Montreal, Canada that has a website here.

So if cuddling parties and firms offering cuddling therapies are advertising on Fetlife - has cuddling now become a fetish?

I hug friends of both sexes. However I am boringly heterosexual and would only feel comfortable having a cuddle with someone of the opposite sex. Does't that make it sexual in some way? Or at least sensual? At any rate something less than platonic. So when these firms such as Nordic Cuddle and Calia claim to be offering purely platonic services can that really be the case? I am not suggesting they are offering additional services. I am just questioning whether a cuddle can always be purely platonic in nature. If so then why are photographs of the professional cuddles shown on both of these websites? Again, I sincerely am not trying to attack either of these companies in any way. In fact I am sure I would enjoy the services they offer and benefit from them. I am sure people do gain benefits from them as I know that hugs and touch are important. I am merely trying to investigate the nature of cuddling. And after all if cuddles really are sensual in nature then where is the harm in that?

In fact I must look up the Berlin one when I am next there which is open about the sensual nature of the cuddling.

Perhaps Hubert gave up with his enterprise too soon. If I had kept with it I might by now have had an international chain of cuddle therapy salons.

Anyone fancy a cuddle?

First session free to all commenters on this blog!