#I am aware that Amanda is human and the commander Spock has an undercover thing with is Romulan

[lightshiningforth]

Unless I missed something major, I think fans as a whole ran off the rails a bit with the whole “Vulcans kiss with their hands! Every little hand touch is kissing and their human peers don’t know! Handshakes are MAKING OUT, from a Vulcan perspective!” thing. It’s funny, sure! But I don’t think it’s true.

IMO, this little gesture is only a “kiss” inasmuch as it’s a gesture of affection. Not a “kiss” that elicits physical pleasure. Would they do it in front of so many people, otherwise? Vulcans are private with their pleasure.

I don’t think these are “kisses,” either. Expressions of intimacy, sure. Symbols of particular relationships, absolutely. But not a 1:1 comparison to a classic, mouth-to-mouth, human kiss. And hardly making out, as it’s generally defined (that’s Spock and his MOTHER in that first pic, remember).

Now, do Vulcans do weird sexual stuff with their hands?

Yeah! They sure do!

Pretty consistently.

That said! I don’t think that type of intimacy makes the hands themselves inherently charged or sexual. I imagine there’s a combination of cultural expectations, ritual, and telepathy involved. So, a Vulcan could shake or hold someone’s hand in a different context and be completely unfazed. Well, perhaps not completely - polite, non-intimate greetings on Vulcan seem to take place by default at a distance (🖖 😐 “Peace and long life.” …..3 ft away…..🖖 😐 “Live long and prosper.”) But I imagine they would be slightly bothered by the irregularity of the gesture, not hot and bothered from oh-so-sensitive hands.

Besides, humans can hold hands (romantic) or shake hands (nonromantic). They can even kiss (romantic/sexual) and kiss (friendly greeting). Surely, Vulcans can touch hands (romantic/sexual) and touch hands (nonromantic/nonsexual), and this has everything to do with the context of the social situation and very little to do with the hands.