History Main / HandshakeRefusal

* ''Literature/Snuff'': One of the magistrates is mentioned as hearing about a man's dishonorable conduct with a girl. Knowing that in this day and age [[EthicalSlut it would take quite a lot for a girl to consider herself dishonored]], he makes further inquiries... and after he finds out (hinted to be child molesting), he makes sure never to shake the bastard's hand again.

* Played logically and slightly humorously in ''Manga/AngelDensetsu'' when Ikuno's father, a martial artist hired in a teacher's role to discipline/expel the good-natured but thug-faced Kitano offers a handshake in the men's bathroom (intending to actually start his attack once he has a grip on the student's hand, and choosing the bathroom for being semi-private), but Kitano rejects it because he just used the urinal and it would be gross/inappropriate to shake hands without at least washing their hands and drying it off.

* ''Anime/DragonBallZ'': After [[VillainProtagonist Vegeta]] suggests a way to bring [[TheHero Goku]] BackFromTheDead after his [[spoiler: supposed]] death, following his fight against [[BigBad Freeza]], Gohan thanks him and offers him a handshake, thinking he has [[HeelFaceTurn turned over]] [[DefeatMeansFriendship a new leaf]]. Vegeta slaps the little boy's hand away, saying that he only wants him back to see [[SuperMode the legendary]] [[TheChosenOne Super Saiyan]].
* ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'':
** After the intense fight between Goku and Toppo is interrupted, Goku tries to offer a handshake only for the latter to refuse as he sees Goku as an evil being and he will not shake hands with evil.
** When Goku offered Caulifla a handshake, she slapped his hand away and sternly said she's here to compete in the tournament and prove she's the strongest, not to make friends.
* In the prologue of ''Anime/DragonBallSuperBroly'', King Vegeta extends his hand towards King Cold, but Cold ignores it, apparently considering it beneath him.

* In ''Comicbook/AllStarSuperman'', Superman offers a handshake to the Kryptonians Bar-El and Lilo, who ignore it and start lecturing him on falling in with the primitive humans instead of taking over.

* ''[[ComicStrip/{{Dilbert}} Dogbert's Rules of Etiquette]]'' has a page on how to handle handshakes. Dilbert denying a handshake because he just sneezed is labeled "polite"; another character snarking after shaking with a sneezed hand is "rude"; Dogbert lying and saying it's wet because he just washed it is labeled "playful".

* After [[VillainProtagonist Vegeta]] suggests a way to bring [[TheHero Goku]] BackFromTheDead after his [[spoiler: supposed]] death, following his fight against [[BigBad Freeza]] in ''Anime/DragonBallZ'', Gohan thanks him and offers him a handshake, thinking he has [[HeelFaceTurn turned over]] [[DefeatMeansFriendship a new leaf]]. Vegeta slaps the little boy's hand away, saying that he only wants him back to see [[SuperMode the legendary]] [[TheChosenOne Super Saiyan]].

* In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'', Peter Stillman reacts this way upon being introduced to Iroquois Pliskin, [[spoiler: who is actually Solid Snake]].
* At the end of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'', the U.S. President awards the Distinguished Service Cross to Naked Snake. Snake shakes President Lyndon B. Johnson's hand, but [[spoiler: refuses to shake hands with the Director of the CIA, because the director had him kill his mentor to both prevent an international incident and recover a massive sum of money from the BigBad]].
** Parodied in the Secret Theater skit, "Payback", where the Director of the CIA tracks down Naked Snake and bests him in a fight just to get that handshake.
* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'', Squall does this quite a bit, most notably to Zell and to the leader of LaResistance.
** Everyone does this to Zell. It's one of the game's [[RunningGag Running Gags]]
* In the ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' DLC, Stolen Memories, you can offer to shake the hand of mercenary group owner Donovan Hock. He will refuse because he's an all-around asshole.
** Happens a few times in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3''. Lieutenant Tolan (a dead Kirrahe's jerkass stand-in) does this to Shepard on Sur'Kesh. In "From Ashes", Shepard offers LastOfHisKind Javik a handshake during their first scene together, but he turns it down. In your last scene together before the final battle, he holds out his hand, and you can either take the Paragon Interrupt or turn him down. Then there's Dr Archer from 2's Overlord DLC...
-->'''Archer:''' Dr Gavin Archer. We...met...on Project Overlord.\\
'''Shepard:''' ''[not taking his hand]'' That's one way of putting it.
* In ''VideoGame/MegaManZero2'', Elpizo introduces himself to Zero as the new commander of the resistance and offers his hand after announcing his plans to destroy Neo Arcadia. Zero refuses both the plans and the handshake.
* In ''VideoGame/EpicMickey'', Oswald suggests that he and Mickey shake and start over. But Mickey holds back and confesses to causing the Thinner Disaster.
* In ''VideoGame/LANoire'', during the first investigation with the Arson desk, a patrolman shows a reluctance to shake Cole's hand since Cole was recently involved in a scandal after having an affair with a nightclub singer. Cole's partner Herschel rebukes him, telling him 'Cole's name might be dogshit, but his hand isn't covered in it.

* Frank West does this to Brad Garrison in ''VideoGame/DeadRising'', being a rather aloof reporter and all.

* Subverted at the end of ''Film/WildCats''. [[spoiler:After coach Goldie Hawn's high school football team wins the city championship, the opposing coach -- enraged at losing to a woman -- refuses to shake her hand. But one of her players will have none of it; he picks him up, holds him kicking and screaming over his head, and forces him to shake.]]

* ''Film/Jimmie2008'': When Kathy introduces Jan to Jimmie, Jan holds his hand out, but Jimmie keeps holding his right arm against his chest.
* In ''Film/TheAirUpThere'', a warthog charges Jimmy while he's going to the bathroom in the bushes. Saleh shoots it with a spear. Jimmy holds out his hand in gratitude, but Saleh doesn't take it because he just used the hand to wipe his butt with leaves.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheBoondocks'', Huey tries to apologize to his former friend Cairo after they had a fight and offers a handshake. Cairo takes his hand...so that he can pull him in and headbutt him.

Can be done in a variety of situations for a variety of reasons. Bob may be an IneffectualLoner or AntiHero who is merely displaying his badass demeanor or desire to work alone. Charlie may be some sort of [[{{Villains}} villain]] or corrupt figure, and Bob is merely expressing his distrust or disrespect towards Charlie by refusing his handshake. Or Bob might be a foreigner from a place where body contact is taboo (or, in sci-fi works, an alien who doesn't get the concept of a handshake). Or, Bob HatesBeingTouched. Or Bob is TerrifiedOfGerms. [[OccamsRazor Or Bob's possibly just a]] {{Jerkass}}.

Can be done in a variety of situations for a variety of reasons. Bob may be an IneffectualLoner or AntiHero who is merely displaying his badass demeanor or desire to work alone. Charlie may be some sort of [[{{Villains}} villain]] or corrupt figure, and Bob is merely expressing his distrust or disrespect towards Charlie by refusing his handshake. Or Bob might be a foreigner from a place where body contact is taboo (or, in sci-fi works, an alien who doesn't get the concept of a handshake). Or Bob HatesBeingTouched. Or, Bob is TerrifiedOfGerms. [[OccamsRazor Or Bob's possibly just a]] {{Jerkass}}.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius'': In "The Eggpire Strikes Back'' Jimmy refused to shake hands with King Goobot after he disapproves of a picnic he's hosting.

* On ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'', Ash's first Indigo League opponent refuses to shake Ash's hand in a manner that establishes him as a SmugSnake. Ash responds with a CurbStompBattle.
--> "My hands are for Pokeballs, not people."

* In a very, very old episode of ''Series/{{Baywatch}}'', a returning lifeguard refuses Mitch's handshake. However, rather than being rude, it's the first clue that an eye disease is destroying his peripheral vision.

* In ''VisualNovel/HeartOfTheWoods'', [[IceQueen Evelyn Fisher]], Morgan's mother and them mayor of Eysenfeld, refuses to shake Tara's hand when introducing herself, since she's not happy about Tara and Madison visiting her town.

* In ''VisualNovel/HeartOfTheWoods'', [[IceQueen Evelyn Fisher]], Morgan's mother and them mayor of Eysenfeld, refuses to shake Tara's hand when introducing the latter, since she's not happy about Tara and Madison visiting her town.