but think American culture even devoid of homophobia is very unique about touching in general

it's some ridiculous arguments in here...usual suspects being usual suspects...

in general, Americans have odd and prudish ideas about what qualifies romantic touch and what qualifies as platonic touch...we also have a very unique ideas about personal space

homophobia can be read from some of those odd distinctions...

but it's easy to mistake odd gender roles combined with overall odd social touch rules

it's a perfect storm of reasons why...and some of them are related

in general...holding hands is typically considered a romantic gesture rather than a platonic one...

men dap, shake hands, hug, put arms around each other but typically don't hold hands or kiss each other...moreso to adhere to gender roles and norms then to avoid the gheys though I'm sure that plays a part as well...

i think this is a case of overstating the impact of one potential cause that's related to the core causes

it's an interesting article though and it's definitely worth the read