Cuddling, caressing, touching, being physically close. There is a lot of body contact in yunity and there even is a term for it. Some yuniteers take this topic pretty seriously, while others don't even see it as relevant to the project at all. For some it's just a pleasant way to spend an evening, some others think of it as an important field of study and there are even some who think it's too much and shouldn't be emphasized so much.

Since it definitely can be confusing, especially to people who are new in the project, this article outlines the history of how it came to be.

Contents:

Early stages (WuppDays #1 - #4)

There has always been cuddling in yunity, in the beginning it just was not addressed specifically and there was no special term for it.

Still, even though almost nobody knew each other before coming together for the project, there has been a strong positive group dynamic from the very beginning. Of course, the people who were strangers when they first met in Italy and elsewhere (because not everyone joined yunity at the same time) took some time to get to know each other and to get closer mentally as well as physically. On top of that, from the very beginning it was clear that cuddling is not something everybody enjoys or is ready for. But being hugged upon arrival and on various other - seemingly random - occasions, was already normal. So was the daily good-morning and/or good-night embrace, that was easily demandable by people who enjoyed it, as they just needed to approach others and always got warm smiles and hugs in return.

Beata and Sara phrase it like this in the video from the first WuppDays in Malo:

Did they hug you, too? Like...
Yeah!
Like, yeah, all the people, they... (both giggle)
Yeah you had this feeling, cause at first I didn't know anybody, so I didn't know if I was going to fit, or... you know, these thoughts, that you have last minute...

With a growing core group of people coming to basically every WuppDays and them automatically getting closer and more acquainted with each other, casual nighttime cuddling also became more frequent and widespread over time. The fact, that it was cold in German winter probably also sped up this development...

Origin of the term 'lamâsch' (WuppDays #5)

On Valentine’s Day 2016 the term ‘lamâsching’ was born out of a joke about the lovely pronunciation of the French ‘la mâche’, because we had dumpster-dived corn salad before and it was the last and thus a very emotionally charged day of the Nuremberg WuppDays, where people cuddled a lot.

After having found a term some of the yuniteers taking the topic of cuddling more seriously started thinking about it and published their thoughts on the wiki - at first in their personal spaces. Soon a more public discussion began in yunity and quite some people got enthusiastic about this new subtopic. Manuel Waelder even created a specifically dedicated lamâsching emoji and added it to Slack. It is in extensive use and you have probably already seen it, if you're part of the yunity Slack:

The beginning of lamâschology (WuppDays #6 - #9)

Enthusiasm was apparent and the activity itself was carried out in a very natural way. People who were into body contact just connected and the casual meta-talks about it were effortlessly transformed into wiki pages and personal articles. It was summer after all, and love was all around. The people most interested in lamâsching spent lots of time together and thus a lot of lamâsching took place. The generally higher temperatures led to situations with less clothing and since more and more time had passed, the people who had been involved in lamâsching culture from the start grew even closer naturally. Of course new people still joined in, and there always were some who took part without any hindrance, but also some who faced some difficulties in the beginning.

The first big controversy (WuppDays #9)

Zed Redstone was the first one to intensely point out the confusing and unclear nature of the established lamâsching culture in yunity, that was familiar to older contributors but sometimes alien to new ones. While the accustomed lamâschers and the ones who just went with the flow had an amazingly nice time lamâsching, Zed Redstone noticed that some new contributors had a hard time pinpointing were the boundaries of the physical contact lay and which hidden messages were maybe sent out.
Since cuddling and the bodily appreciation of other human beings carry a lot of meaning in the normal setup of human society, it can be frustrating to enter a lamâsching community and suddenly loose all the security, which otherwise would tell you if another person likes you more than others. Falling in love in contexts like these can be challenging, especially, if you're new to the culture...

In this context the new Lamâsching Availability list was started to provide an overview of who is up for what. Not all the contributors took this endeavor seriously, but Janina Abels tried her best to keep it as useful as it could be...

Confusion in relaxation, lust and not-giving-a-fuck (WuppDays #10 - #12)

Lamâsching didn't stop. It became more normal and casual and this phase of couple-building and -reformaion came to an end. Janina Abels and Tilmann, who had been two major lamâsching-supporters, went quiet because of a newfound emphasis on personal experience compared to a previous focus on abstract observation. Thus the lamâsching development went on not less intensely but less documented.

(to be extended)

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