It is no more reasonable for the boyfriend to have a problem with her dad giving her massages than it is for him to have a problem with her getting massages from anyone but him. The core of the idea is that massages are inherently sexual, and that therefore she is interacting sexually with her father. But if massages are inherently sexual, he could reasonably demand that she not get a massage from anyone else, in much the same way he could reasonably demand that she not make out with or have sex with other people. But that wouldn’t be reasonable: massages are not inherently sexual. They can be sexual, but so can hugs. No one sane would assume that a hug from your father had any sexual component.
As did I. I’d feel the same way if he was a physician and giving his daughter a pelvic exam.
So, would it make any difference if he was giving massages to his son? Or if it was a female MT giving massages to her son (or daughter)? I don’t think any of those would make me change my vote.
I have had several full body massages done by strangers [IE not one of y friends who is a massage therapist] and I have never had them rub my genitals in a sexual manner [only genital part that got touched in any way was actually my breasts, they didnt go near my crotch other than to do my glutes as part of my legs and lower torso]
Hell, my dad changed my diapers and bathed me, so what is the big deal?
My mother is a massage therapist and has given me many massages, nothing wrong with this at all.
My mom is a massage therapist and when she was going to school for it needed people to practice on. Her kids and husband were, obviously, very convenient guinea pigs. Now that she’s actually working, she still gives us massages when we request them or need them. Yes, I have worn nothing other than a sheet while my mother massaged me.
I consider myself lucky, personally, because I know how much she charges clients. It had never occurred to me to view any of that as weird or sexual/sensual.
The only weird part about this scenario is the boyfriends reaction, frankly.
I’m far more bothered with a teenage girl’s boyfriend thinking that he has some right to determine how and by who her body is touched. That is squicky to me, not a massage given by a professional massage therapist, regardless of their relationship to the person on the receiving end.
Footrubs can be an extremely pleasurable and intimate activity.
Are footrubs given by the Red Cross folks to pilgrims on the road to Javier Castle indecent? No. Pleasurable to the receiver? Judging by the oOOOooohs and aaaAAAAAHs, yes; then again, I’ve seen people call out “ohmyGOD!” just from taking their boots off. Intimate? Only if you consider that something done while surrounded by half a dozen people is intimate.
But what if the volunteer is the pilgrim’s dad? Still perfectly decent, with a side dish of 
If the girl was going to a therapist for massages, would the boyfriend also be bothered? I suspect yes. The problem is posessiveness on his part, not naughtiness on the father and daughter’s part.
Why is it whenever a guy points out behavior that a reasonable person might consider “suspect”, someone says he’s being a “controlling jerk”?
Perfectly benign.
Hell, I’ve been giving my daughter (neck & shoulder&foot) massages since she was born - I took a class on baby massage and all. Am I going to have to stop this when she hits puberty? They still feel good to the recipient even if they’re not full-body. Am I not allowed to hug my daughter? Those feel good too.
And what’s with this “naked under a sheet” shit? So she’s not naked?
If it were a girlfriend, she’d be a controlling jerk too.
Are you going to massage her naked, oiled thighs, too?
Just the other day my niece complained of a backache and I gave her a lower back massage. Never occured to me that someone would see that as a sexual thing.
To me, this is not unlike the threads where people wonder about the propriety of an older girl sitting on her father’s lap. It’s good that we’re more vigilant in spotting signs of sexual abuse but we have to be equally careful not to become overreactive.
I think her boyfriend’s reaction was way more harmful to the girl than the massage as it made her feel dirty over an innocent thing.
And here we have the exact misguided mentality that leads to the boyfriend being a nitwit.
RMT stands for “registered massage therapist” which is what the father in the OP seems to be if I am reading the context correctly. In most jurisdictions there is a regulatory body to maintain professional standards, hence the dad is “licensed”. Daddy isn’t a “masseuse”. He doesn’t work in an environment where the workers aren’t “known for great boundaries, particularly the male workers”. He likely works in a clinic that has adjunct professionals. Most of my RMT’s have been male. In fact I prefer male practitioners for full body massages because they are stronger and can really get to deep tissue. Presently my RMT is female because she has very strong hands. The massage clinics I’ve gone to usually also have physiotherapists, chiropractors, and or other health care workers on staff as well.
Far from astro’s “unless you are injured” assumption, a full-body massage doesn’t mean “sensuous massage.” My medical doctor has suggested full body massage to help prevent an otherwise recurring injury. Full body massage manipulates muscles, no one ever rubs my breasts, there’s no muscle there. Closest anyone has come i when I’d injured a pectoral muscle while climbing a tree.
Same here. And neither my mother, nor any other massage therapists I’ve ever been to have ever gone near my breasts or genital area - I have to wonder what kind of massages people who would object to this are envisaging. I can’t help but think they have never been to a massage therapist - it’s not a profession that’s noted for its lack of boundaries (WTF?) - quite the opposite, in fact. It has very strict codes of professional conduct, precisely because it involves touching people not wearing very much. Much like osteopaths, physical therapists, doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals…
LOL “naked under a sheet.” Imagine all the stuff they do together naked under clothes!
Legit massages do not involve the genitals or sexual gratification at all. In any case, if Dad is twisted and getting his jollies off his daughter, massages are surely only part of the deal and not the root of the problem. But I don’t think he is- I think he’s just a guy with a specialized skill sharing with his family. Boyfriend needs to butt out and realize that he doesn’t get to control every aspect of his girlfriends body.
Exactly. I’m a little surprised at some of the responses in this thread, from people who are smart enough to know better. I’m really surprised at WhyNot’s response.
My last GF is an LCMT. She’s been giving her kids massages since they were little (they’re in their teens now), and she has an excellent sense of boundaries. And she instills those values in her kids. To suggest that she is somehow abusing them is both laughable and insulting.
In fact, there’s only one time, as far as I know, that she ended a massage with a “happy ending.” Hey, I was already naked and I had her alone. It was my suggestion. But she stopped early because she felt very uncomfortable about it. Does that sound like a lack of boundaries?
Like I said, in reality my response would probably be very different. It would definitely make me watch the duo for a few minutes to see their vibe, and then I’d probably conclude Dad was just a massage therapist with more stamina or less clients than I. 
The first thing I’d find out is if he’s the kind of guy to offer massages to his wife, his other kids, friends, that kind of thing. If so, my wariness would go way down. My first reading of the OP was that this is a special thing he only does with his daughter, and that set off alarm bells, but upon reread, I see it was my inference, not explicitly said.
Oh, and the boyfriend, whether or not this is an icky sitch, is a jerk. Her body, her choice…but the poll question wasn’t about the boyfriend.
I admit I’m mildly skeeved out by it. But then I have history. And I am skeeved out by the boyfriend trying to tell her what to do, too. The girl should make her own decisions, certainly. And the thing that tells me it is not abuse is not the fact of the massage or that he is licenced, but that she had no problem telling it (until boyfriend freaked out). In an abuse situation I’m sure there would be plenty of shame and humiliation and unwillingness to tell about it.
Sure, why not.