Reflecting on that shared pleasurable activity called "sex," Ethan ( in an attempt to reinforce the impression that he has met few humans and understands even less ) exhausts every other shared pleasurable activity and rejects them all as a bad analogy; instead, settling on an empty social ritual.

He sez, "But if we start imagining how society could be different, let's go with one where sex really isn't special. If someone asks you for sex, it's rude not to have sex with them, just as today it's rude not to say "hello" when someone greets you."

Its rude precisely because all agree that it is empty of any meaning excepting what society has chosen as an aggregate. No difference in experience exists, and no preferences exist. It is rude precisely because it is meaningless and arbitrary. ( Someone needs to acquaint him with the thesis of the book, Kiss, Bow, Or Shake Hands. )

As far as analogies go, I DO NOT reject all other shared pleasurable activities.

If I'm passing by a basketball court and someone asks if I want to shoot hoops, my response depends on the degree to which I know them, the degree to which I enjoy the activity, my mood, my itinerary, &tc.

As with "wanna dance?" its something one can accept casually, but which one can just as easily reject casually.

The world outside of Ethan's fevered imagination is far from divided into the false dichotomy of the prescribed and the proscribed.

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As for "meaningless" social rituals involving kids and greetings..........

The Girl Scouts have come out in favor of body autonomy as far as rejecting unwanted affection goes.

“Telling your child that she owes someone a hug either just because she hasn’t seen this person in a while or because they gave her a gift can set the stage for her questioning whether she ‘owes’ another person any type of physical affection when they’ve bought her dinner or done something else seemingly nice for her later in life. Give your girl the space to decide when and how she wants to show affection. Of course, many children may naturally want to hug and kiss family members, friends, and neighbours, and that’s lovely — but if your daughter is reticent, don’t force her. Of course, this doesn’t give her licence to be rude!”

Dante