I've read the posts to this thread with great interest. Such different opinions. It's really fascinating. My opinion was formed fairly early in life and I believe it still holds true. In the scheme of ordinary (i.e., non-kink) life, a male tickling an (unrelated) female is usually either a sexual advance or a power play, or both. Either way, it's very risky flirting. I've seen quite a few of these scenes play out, and either they end with a laughing female or a furious female. Without writing too much in the way of armchair psychoanalysis, I think it's fair to assert that females generally dislike being overpowered and controlled by males they find unattractive. However, if they are attracted to the male, they perceive the act differently. In those cases, it isn't perceived as being overpowered and controlled, it's being played with. In other words, the act is perceived as not only non-threatening, but actually flattering. Even in the most curious of cases. Here's a story.
I was at a party with my wife, my best friend, Tom, his girlfriend, Tracy, and most of the rest of our circle of friends. (A quick aside - While I personally had never discussed my tickling fetish with my friends, my wife had more or less outed me within a month of when we started dating. So how everyone felt about tickling and being tickled had been thoroughly discussed on more than one occasion. Stories were told whenever the subject came up, which certainly wasn't all the time, but often enough to be mildly awkward for me, which I think was my wife's secret goal. One thing we all knew without doubt was that Tracy hated being tickled, and would get angry with Tom if he even attempted it.) So, at this party, Tom told us this story: He and Tracy were at her house, in her bedroom, when, to Tom's surprise, Tracy's male roommate ran into the room, grabbed her, threw her down onto her bed, pinned her down and proceeded to tickle her mercilessly for several minutes. Right there, in front of Tom. Apparently, Tracy dissolved into a laughing, helpless mess, and when it was all over, the roommate simply got up and left Tom and Tracy to deal with what had just happened. Tracy wasn't angry, or even particularly embarrassed.
And now, I ask you guys - what do you think everyone thought about this tale?