Holding hands
Two or more people voluntarily hold hands for one of the following reasons and purposes:
- in various rituals:
- to express friendship or love
- to enjoy physical intimacy (not necessarily of erotic character)
- for emotional support
- to guide (a child, a blind person, in darkness, etc.)
- to urge to follow
- to keep together (in a crowd or in darkness)
- to help the other walk, stand or climb up
- to dance
- to arm wrestle
Whether friends hold hands depends on culture and gender: in the Western culture this is mainly done by women and small children. In Arab countries, Africa and some parts of Asia it is done also by men. It is also fairly common to see teenage girls holding hands as a sign of friendship. On Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's 2007 visit of Iran he publicly held hands with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. [1]