Backbone

Touch is the first channel of communication. It contains information about safety, emotion, reaction, attention. With touch in play I am freed up to have a conversation or to sit silently with fewer misunderstandings and with deep alignment. This communication channel is also helpful during sex, for these same reasons, but should never be mistaken for sex.

With text communication I can slow down and read subtext and carefully calibrate my language. With touch I can refine, clarify, and translate language. With conversation alone it's rougher.