My mom is a massage therapist. She’s being going to school for a few years for that and to be a physical therapist aid, both as a way to make extra income and because she likes it. She has masters in business, so really this is more of a side interest for her.
She’s offered to give me a back massage, mostly because I’ve complained of back pain at work on occasion, but also because she wants to show what she’s learned.
Do you think it would be weird? If your parent was a massage therapist and you had the chance for a massage, would you take it? Would it be gross, just 'cause it’s your parent?
I saw the title and was going to be a jerk and post, “Sure, I’d get a massage from YOUR MOM,” but then I actually read the OP, and realized it wouldn’t have been very funny after all.
If one’s parent was a professional masseuse/masseur, I don’t think it would be icky, as long as they didn’t lift the towel, so to speak.
IANAMassageTherapist, but my kids hound me constantly to give them massages. They began getting massaged as babies, and even though they’re now in their twenties, never miss a chance to guilt me into one whenever they visit.
Talking massage with oils the whole nine yards. Upper body only though.
My wife is actually freaking out about it. She is dead set against it and calls it “disgusting”. I think she’s way over reacting. Would the way your spouse felt change your mind?
When I lived in western Maryland, I had a close friend whose mom was a massage therapist. The mom often gave massages to her daughter, her son in law (daughter’s hubby) as well as any friends who happened to be hanging around and wanted a massage. Nothing creepy about it, AFAIC.
I’m not really a fan of massages as they rarely feel nice to me, so it’d be about as weird as any other person doing it. I don’t think I’d be a fan of the whole ‘get undressed, lay under a sheet’ type of massage from anyone I know, either; I’d prefer those to be more clinical.
Back massage, I’d have zero problem with it on either end of the equation (as parent, or as massagee). Well, as massagee it’d be a bit strange getting a backrub from Beyond The Grave… :D.
This may be somewhat shocking to you guys, but: It’s perfectly possible to indulge in physical contact between adults (even adults of each others’ preferred gender) without making it into a sexual thing. Just sayin’.
I’ve given my dad massages with his shirt off. No oils or no tables or anything. I think I’ve even massaged his hamstrings through his jeans. But he’s always been a laborer and he’s always had a bad back - scoliosis and bulging discs - so for me it’s no different than if he asks me to cut his hair. It’s clinical.
I’m not a masseuse (or a hair dresser!) but I inherited his large, strong hands (I am a woman) and never thought it squicky so I’ve always given him a massage when he needed it.
In turn, he’s rubbed my back and shoulders but he’s a little too rough so I don’t ask him to do it much. I have asked both my parents to rub my back if I have a particular muscle problem.
If my parents were professional masseurs? Hell yeah, I’d be all up in there. Free massages!
My opinion is that the oils send it over the line to ‘weird’. Shirt on, just working out knots in muscles, wouldn’t bother me at all, but the oils and shirtlessness seem to suggest a certain level of intimacy that I wouldn’t want from a parent.
Yes it would be weird, but I’m a special case. My dad used to ask me to rub his back when I was a kid, as an excuse to get my mom out of the room and sexually abuse me. I don’t really like to be touched by family as a result (though I’m ok with getting massages from male partners or a professional masseuse or a chiro, have done those things several times without issue). But not from family.
