i just read this so i dont know if this is referring to me. if i assume that it is;

>she and others have questioned the rationale behind the
>opposition to the opposite.

do i think that the lack of touch is rooted in homophobia?
yes
there could be largely other reasons - e.g culture although i dont buy this either- i mean what is culture? it is a way of life, and if we are brought up to assume that platonic touch amongst men is
a sign of either being gay, leads to some form of 'intimacy' (although i dont agree that intimacy= romance)
or is a form of 'weakness' or being 'soft'
which to me equals being gay (of which i dont understand the assumption that being gay= being weak. at all)
then that becomes our culture
does american culture in general frown against physical intimacy (here not defined as some romantic touch
i'd say yes it does (as evinced by the concept of personal space)
do i think its rooted in some fear of germs or disease ? no. nothing in the past 100 years confirms this (as far as i know. germ theory is relatively recent
do i assume its due to religion? shit. religion and homophobia....
so.. what other theories explain this?
and i find it also interesting that with newfound globalization this is a trend that is crossing borders
my brothers in nairobi, for example

>I'm obviously fine with my choice, but obviously my and other
>men's platonic touching doesn't go far enough for some.

which is awesome
for me this article puts up a plausible rationale
and should result in asking questions about whether or not the underlying premise is right
do men in this society avoid touching other men (and dont bring up sports. i think the fact that men are so openly touching each other during sports is evidence that the lack of touch in other aspects of life is that good ol conditioning)
if the answer is yes... and if it has an impact/effect in how men relate to the world/society at large (e.g looking at society as something one has to be prepared against- teaching boys to put up a front in order to survive)
then perhaps the bigger issue is how do we resolve