what do most people think of tickling?

[SadCuzNotTcklsh]

Obviously I mean this for non-TMFers, and those with a fetish for it.
What have you seen as the usual "vanilla" reaction to tickling? Do most hate it? Like it in small amounts? Like it only when they are the ler? Do they think its silly or childish? Or just have no opinion or give any thought to it as much as we do?

 

[rhiannon]

Most only are okay with dishing out, but hate being tickled. And they don't really think about it.

 

[TickleCuties]

Most only are okay with dishing out, but hate being tickled. And they don't really think about it.

Agree - most people are generally indifferent to it from any sort of sexual standpoint...they usually think it's funny to tickle someone to mess with them, but get weirded out the second they learn that there's anything sexual behind it at all (which, for us, there is...because it's a fetish)...they tend to not want to tickle a person if they know the person likes being tickled, and they generally hate being tickled themselves.

However, I also find that a lot of "vanilla" people can actually DEVELOP a tickle fetish - if you're dating someone and you work it into the relationship, and don't overkill it (i.e., keep it playful, respect limits, and don't go overboard or become obsessive about it), people can actually learn to get into it. Almost every gf I had in high school and college had no idea that tickling could even BE a fetish, but just grew to love tickling because we used it to play around (as foreplay) and flirted with it a lot.

 

[Mitchell]

Most girls I' ve talked to who aren't into tickling absolutely hate to be tickled.

Mitch

 

[MaleTickleeDC]

For those between puberty and their late teens, tickling serves as a form of proto-foreplay for many. It's a way to initiate touch for those who recently discovered that they "like" girls or that they "like" guys, but who aren't really sure how to use their new sexuality. I almost tripped over all the tickling that went on in my high school, and I was really hoping that tickling was going to continue to be prevalent as I got older. Needless to say, it hasn't been. Around senior yr of high school it started to taper off and nearly disappeared by college. That's because people quickly learn the ropes when it comes to their sexuality and how to express it in a socially acceptable way, and so tickling the girl or guy you like in the hall to get their attention is replaced with more conventional methods of courtship.

I don't think most people older than age 20 or so think about tickling much at all. Example: I was at a Halloween costume party last night and there were TONS of girls showing skin, and lots of guys to take advantage of these ticklish situations. How much tickling took place? None. Zero. Nada. Tickling is not even on the radar screens of most vanilla people. It's just something we have to accept and live with, though I'm all for trying to convert significant others and such. At the very least, a sig other who wants you to be happy will indulge your fetish within reason.

 

[Insidious]

Obviously I mean this for non-TMFers, and those with a fetish for it.
What have you seen as the usual "vanilla" reaction to tickling? Do most hate it? Like it in small amounts? Like it only when they are the ler? Do they think its silly or childish? Or just have no opinion or give any thought to it as much as we do?

Are you writing a book and how the HELL would we know what most people think?

How old are you?

 

[Marquis De Sade]

They don't think about it. It's just seen as something playful. Might as well ask what most people think of messing someone's hair up for fun. 🙂

 

[WorkInProgress]

Let me open by saying that I regret that one of our fellow posters saw fit to ridicule your question.

I think most people regard tickling as childish fun in small doses, and horrible torture past a certain point. I also think it's common in small doses between romantic partners as teasing, and I think a lot of guys like to tickle their girlfriends without considering themselves kinky or part of any fetish scene. But I think the average person would find a message board devoted to it and an annual convention with bondage tickling just plain weird.

 

[YouNeverKnow175]

Yeah, it's a great question. No reason for ridicule.

I'm curious about this too - because it's SO sexual for me, I can't imagine it not being sexual for someone else. I know that sometimes I project a lot onto others' intentions because of that. I kind of hate the thought of adults tickle-torturing kids for that reason (not to mention that it scars our future lovers and makes them hate tickling!) and also have a hard time understanding the idea of tickling that is not at the very least flirtatiously, if not sexually, motivated.

 

[Mitchell]

What MaleTickleeDC said was actually the opposite for me.

I saw a few girls get tickled in high school. One memorable situation was a girl who was getting rib tickled in the lunch room in senior year. (She was already 18 by the way, and so was the guy tickling her), and she kept falling into people, etc. However, besides that, not much tickling went on there.

In college, there was quite a bit more tickling that I saw, both involving me, and not involving me. I had a friend in senior year of college, who was 6'4, I believe, and used to be tickled by his then girlfriend quite often. Maybe becaise I was more outgoing, I also tickled girls in college, whereas I dont ever recall doing so in high school.

After college, I find tickling often is almost non existant for vanilla people, but in college, at least from my experience, it can still happen.

Mitch

 

[MaleTickleeDC]

and also have a hard time understanding the idea of tickling that is not at the very least flirtatiously, if not sexually, motivated.

I used to be like that too. When I was younger and would see a boyfriend or girlfriend playfully tickling each other, I would think, "See! Everyone gets turned on by tickling!" But all it took was a few times bringing tickling up to people as a potential turn on before I realized that the vast majority of people don't get turned on by tickling. Usually vanilla people seem confused or amused by the mere suggestion. I think a lot of it may have to do with the fact that not every mechanism for flirtation actually turns most people on. When "we" tickle others or get tickled ourselves, we become turned on sexually by the mere act of tickling. But when a vanilla person uses tickling to flirt, it's basically an excuse to initiate touch with the guy or girl that they like, and to do so in a way that is playful or gently physically dominating, hoping this will lead to other things that will turn both of them on, like making out, etc.

 

[chrisheaven]

I have a feeling that more people than we realise actually like it

 

[SadCuzNotTcklsh]

I have a feeling that more people than we realise actually like it

I hope you are right my man!!!
I also wonder if the opinions of tickling are different for men and for women. Who am I kidding of they are... 😛

 

[Tickleslave83]

I think most people without this fetish hate being tickled.

 

[tkpatience]

As mentioned before, vanillas are hard to read. Each individual has their own set of values and opinions which makes it nearly impossible to do anything but overgeneralize they're responses.

A lot of people hear the word 'tickle' and think of general silliness. The realization that tickling is a fetish can be taken positively or negatively.

The resulting stimuli from being tickled is also subject to the personal opinion of the individual in question. Some get their jollies that way, while other despise it.

If you take a step backwards to the vanilla shoes, then anything outside your norm is likely going to be strange. The line that divides vanilla and non-vanilla is very thin. The second someone decides to associate themselves with a group where tickling is accepted as a sexual fetish the line between vanilla and non-vanilla is crossed.

The resulting community then dictates that tickling can be viewed as a sexual thing and thus becomes the new norm.

TL: DR Most TMFers think tickling as a sexual fetish is an accepted norm. This may not be the case for vanillas. It really depends on the individual.

 

[saratk]

some think it's weird, some will play along and others will get to love it.

I had a girl ask me why I was always tickling her armpits when we were making out, and I emailed her the next day and explained my fetish, and she was like "oh that makes sense" and then was ok with it, would even passsionately say "tickle my armpits or "tickle my feet" in hot moments.