# If a stranger approached you in the locker room, and asked you to rub lotion on his/her back....

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-stranger-approached-you-in-the-locker-room-and-asked-you-to-rub-lotion-on-his-her-back/749441>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [March 18, 2016, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-stranger-approached-you-in-the-locker-room-and-asked-you-to-rub-lotion-on-his-her-back/749441 "2016-03-18T19:58:32Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 4

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**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\
**Post date:** [March 23, 2016, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-stranger-approached-you-in-the-locker-room-and-asked-you-to-rub-lotion-on-his-her-back/749441/62 "2016-03-23T00:16:18Z")

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> [@Grrr](#):
>
> No nothing like that. I was just curious as to what degree, women are more comfortable with touching each other than men. It’s interesting to note, that women have more or less been tied from the start of this thread.

I think being more comfortable with touch is _part_ of it, but also, it just doesn’t strike me as a wildly out-of-bounds request in a women’s locker room (though it would still be kind of unusual), and I’m willing to take the men’s word for it that it _would_ be a massive violation of social norms for a man to do the same thing. In other words, one factor might also be how weird the request is perceived to be, in context.

Incidentally, I’m wondering what to make of the fact that there are about twice as many men responding to the poll as women.

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**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\
**Post date:** [March 23, 2016, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-stranger-approached-you-in-the-locker-room-and-asked-you-to-rub-lotion-on-his-her-back/749441/63 "2016-03-23T00:28:14Z")

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> [@kayT](#):
>
> I would not do it, but I can’t help wondering how we would turn the person down.

I’m a guy, and I’d probably either ignore the request or respond with a curt “No.”

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**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\
**Post date:** [March 23, 2016, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-stranger-approached-you-in-the-locker-room-and-asked-you-to-rub-lotion-on-his-her-back/749441/64 "2016-03-23T05:15:01Z")

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> [@VunderBob](#):
>
> If what he wanted spread is something I could identify as a topical medication, yes.
> 
> Moisturizer or sun screen? **BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!**

Ok, I would say no in either case, but if I were to say yes, it wouldn’t be to applying topical medication. :eek:

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