National factors affecting the size of spatial zones

A young Italian couple moved to Sydney. They were invited to join the local club. After a few weeks, three women complained that the Italian was sexually harassing them and that they felt uncomfortable in his company. Men believed that a young Italian behaved as if she were sexually accessible.
This situation clearly shows what complications may arise when different national spatial traditions collide. The inhabitants of Southern Europe have an intimate zone of only 20-30 cm, and even less in some countries. Italians felt completely comfortable, standing 25 cm from the Australians. They did not understand that they had invaded their personal space - because the Australians have an intimate zone that extends to 46 cm. Italians are used to making eye contact and touching the other person during a conversation. Australians, on the other hand, misinterpreted the motives for such behavior. After learning about what members of the club think about them, the Italians were shocked, but in the future they tried to adhere to Australian standards of behavior.
An invasion of the intimate zone of the opposite sex is a way of expressing interest in this person, sometimes called an “advance”. If such an advance is rejected, the person retreats in order to keep personal space intact. If the advance is accepted, the person stays in place and allows the other person to be inside their personal space. To test a man's feelings, a woman enters his intimate zone and then retreats. If a man is interested in her, he will enter her space.

The closer people are to each other emotionally, the closer they are to each other physically.

The fact that the Italians seemed perfectly normal, the Australians regarded as sexual advances. The Italians considered Australians cold and unfriendly, because every time they approached them, they retreated backwards to maintain a comfortable distance for themselves.
The above illustration shows the negative reaction of a woman to whose personal space a man has encroached. She leaned back, trying to keep a comfortable distance for her. However, a man may well be from a place where the personal zone is much smaller. Therefore, he can move toward a woman to set a distance that is comfortable for himself. A woman interprets his behavior as sexual.

	The distance between interlocutors, acceptable to most residents of the countries of the West, Northern Europe and urban residents of Scandinavia
	A man with less spatial needs makes a woman lean back to protect her space