A 'SHOCKING' (?!) Ethiopian form of connection

Every culture has unique customs or beliefs that can be seen as odd or shocking to those who have lived outside of that cultural bubble.

One of the most surprising cultural differences between Australian and Ethiopian customs (to me at least) is our perception of socially acceptable intimacy within friendships.  

Acceptable In Ethiopia, Weird in Australia

In Adis Ababa, Ethiopian friends of the same sex can hold hands with one another without a second thought, despite being in a country where homosexuality is illegal. However if a man and a woman were to hold hands it would be frowned upon.

This would be weird if two straight males were doing this

When I learnt this, I was GOBSMACKED. Here in Melbourne Australia, hand holding is considered to be an intimate gesture reserved for lovers, or a physical sign of affection for childish young girls (teeny boppers).

Cute kids holding hands; Macho men don't like to be called cute

In Melbourne, two straight adult male friends would not seriously hold hands walking down Flinders Street for a myriad of reasons. One being that it is not considered a very masculine thing to do, as hand holding is generally perceived as childish or too effeminately affectionate. In addition, they might be considered to be in a homosexual relationship, and thus don't want to send the wrong image by holding hands.

 

PDA between friends is cool

However, would I feel culture shock (cs) seeing this completely foreign hand holding everywhere in Addis Ababa?  At first I said yes, this Ethiopian custom shocks me because it is completely opposite to my Australian conception of acceptable intimacy within friendships. However, now I learned that it is a source of cultural confusion (cc) , not shock as Hottola (2004) explains in his journal article 'Culture Confusion, Intercultural Adaptation in Tourism."   

Therefore to combat similar culture confusion it's best to do some research on the host culture of your destined country and to keep an open mind about further cultural oddities that you might find. Frankly, many cultures have different beliefs, and in a globalised community that's what makes our global culture interesting and colourful.