service economy

Men and Women Prefer to Be Touched by Women

Photo: iStockphoto

When picking a massage therapist, men and women prefer to be touched by female hands for a number of sexual anxiety-fraught reasons laid bare by the New York Times’ “Sunday Styles.” For one, women may prefer other women because they feel safer, they don’t have to worry about if they forgot to shave their legs and, for them, a massage is “like a chat session among gal pals.” Even though 85 percent of working massage therapists are female, according to the Times, it helps to keep a masseur around. Some straight men prefer them out of fear they’ll become aroused. (Of course, they might choose a woman for the same reason.) Women, meanwhile, choose men because they want “the attention of someone who might find them attractive” or to “avoid the judgment they might feel from another woman.” The judgment of other women is known to be one of the top risks of chat sessions among gal pals.