Strange Question(Or Maybe Not)

[WEDWDW]

When taking pictures with Characters(especially Face Characters)do you put your arm around their waist,around their shoulder or do you keep your arms out in front of you?

With all the allegations of groping while taking pictures in our news these days,do you think the Characters would feel more "comfortable" if Guests kept their arms in front of them and visible during the picture taking?

Thanks.

 

[Shellyb84]

I kind of just put my arm behind them, not necessarily touching but it just seems awkward to have both arms in front.

 

[Arianabtd]

Most of the time, I link arms with them.
But the rest of the time I kinda hover my arm behind them.

 

[hiroMYhero]

Character performers usually initiate ‘side hugs’ which isn’t an invitation for the guest to grope them.

Fur characters get groped on a far too often basis. They now have directives to walk offstage if a guest makes them uncomfortable.

No groping here :

 

[paradesintherain]

I think if you don't intentionally grope a person you won't be accused of it.

That said, waist or shoulders for picture, it's usually pretty natural. The characters do this for a living and know how to direct the situation

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I sort of hover my arm behind the character. It gives the appearance of side hugging without actually touching the person.

 

[revdon64]

Isn't it sad that we even have to have this conversation or think about this stuff?
Personally, I don't ever recall doing pictures with face characters. My kids have, plenty of times. But as an adult man, I'm not particularly interested in meeting princesses/princes/etc. Even with fur characters, I usually let the kids get close and I stand behind or to the side. Wait, does hugging Baymax count? LOL

 

[loves to dive]

The only character I've ever had my picture with was Chewy and he got a big ole hug cause I love me some Chewy. No groping by either of us,it would have been hard for him since he's like 7 foot tall and I'm just shy of 5'2". I guess I could have groped him but why would I?

 

[katt789]

Character will usually engage you to do a side hug, link arms, something of the sort. Princesses are always used to all sorts of guests coming to meet them, and usually will either put their arm behind you, not necessarily touching you (in which I do the same) and a lot of the time with male guests they will ask "may I take your arm" or they'll pose you like a prince.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

I generally take the picture with my husband.

If it is a female character, she and I both take my husband's arm. His, of course, end up folded in front of him.

If it is a male character, I end up taking my husband's arm and the character's arm.

It it happens to be just me, I am taller than most characters, so if my arm ends up behind, it is almost around their shoulders.

 

[Mo Disney plz]

You never know if the performer is a girl or boy, how tall they are inside the fur, or what’s padded... my daughter as a friend of Pluto and green army man would get her boobs touched on accident all the time. She started gesturing the poses that would lead to less touches

 

[ColoradoMom12]

It's an interesting question. I sometimes wonder, too, what other adults do when they're taking photos with characters. But LOL this reminds me of a time I met one of my favorite singers. As I was trying to reach my arm behind her to put my hand on her shoulder for a photo, I accidentally bumped her bum. I felt rather awkward, lol. I've always wanted not to have a repeat of that while taking a photo with a character at Disney! I usually end up with my arms in front of me or by my sides. I like to link arms with Mickey because we're the same size.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

Face characters I tend to just pose with.
Fur characters tend to use body language more and often go in for hugs and want to hold hands so I kinda just go with the flow with what their body language is telling me and its often an arm around them or holding hands.

 

[WEDWDW]

As I was trying to reach my arm behind her to put my hand on her shoulder for a photo, I accidentally bumped her bum. I felt rather awkward, lol.

That is what concerns me,in today's climate with all the groping allegations during picture taking(including the recent one made by a WDW Guest against a WDW performer)even an accidental touch could be misinterpreted.

I think "arms out front" and visible no matter how "geeky" it looks may be the way to go-sad that it has come to this.

 

[WEDWDW]

my daughter as a friend of Pluto and green army man would get her boobs touched on accident all the time.

That had to get OLD real quick-how awful for your daughter!

 

[mom2rtk]

That is what concerns me,in today's climate with all the groping allegations during picture taking(including the recent one made by a WDW Guest against a WDW performer)even an accidental touch could be misinterpreted.

I think "arms out front" and visible no matter how "geeky" it looks may be the way to go-sad that it has come to this.

Sorry, but I'm not doing an awkward pose. I'll take my chances as I always have with my arm behind the character. I think I might have even touched a princess' shoulder once or twice last week. Don't tell anyone.

 

[ColoradoMom12]

That is what concerns me,in today's climate with all the groping allegations during picture taking(including the recent one made by a WDW Guest against a WDW performer)even an accidental touch could be misinterpreted.

I think "arms out front" and visible no matter how "geeky" it looks may be the way to go-sad that it has come to this.

Yikes, I see what you're saying. My accidental bump could have been misinterpreted as something else. I had the same happen to me, actually, by one of the characters at Tusker House. It was obvious to me that it was a mistake, just as I'm sure it was obvious (I hope!) to the singer I met. How sad that an honest mistake could be seen as something sinister, but I think there's so much truth to what you're saying.

 

[Shanti]

I never give it a thought. I almost never take pics with face characters, anyway, but when I do I just stand next to them. I never would have hugged them, and not for the OP's reason- it just would have felt weird to me. But I don't think a light hug or shoulder hug is out of line from anyone meeting any character.

For the animal characters, I do give them hugs and put my arms around their waist/back when taking a photo. Handlers and/or Disney's video cameras are there monitoring everything. Not worried at all.

Sexual harassment is a whole different ball game than this. It starts with an imbalance of power between the man and woman that doesn't exist between park guests and characters, and it tends to happen when the two people are alone.

 

[KenHutch]

I made "Ariel" laugh on our 1st trip in 2006. I noticed that Ariel was a real redhead and to be politically incorrect she was rather well endowed. I stood there as my daughter met her and then she asked me what I wasn't stepping up for a picture. I noticed the huge number of men and teenage boys in line and I said you seem to have a lot of visitors and I didn't want to bother her. She let out a big laugh and motioned me forward and gave me a kiss on the cheek while the picture was being taken. She actually broke character and whispered in my ear that I had no idea because 2/3rds of the males would accidentally grope something on her. After that I learned to ask the princesses before doing anything.