Showing Love with A Hug
I never really realized that hugging your friends was unusual. Thank you New York Times for pointing it out to me:
But Amy L. Best, a sociologist at George Mason University, said the teenage embrace is more a reflection of the overall evolution of the American greeting, which has become less formal since the 1970s. “Without question, the boundaries of touch have changed in American culture,” she said. “We display bodies more readily, there are fewer rules governing body touch and a lot more permissible access to other people’s bodies.”
Granted, for a lot of people, hugging crosses a social line or seems disingenuous. That’s why the fist bump was invented. But when so much of what constitutes unacceptable touching is emphasized in society - think: sexual harrasment, “acting gay”- it makes sense that we feel more comfortable showing physical appreciation in acceptable manners.
Notes:
