It has been going on for years now, but hugging seems to be reaching epidemic levels. I saw a group of people hugging away in a café this morning, as if they hadn’t seen each other since school days.
Nothing wrong with it, but I’m not a natural hugger so it tends to come across as rather too gushing to chime with my social outlook.
I’ll tentatively hug back if hugged, but never initiate hugs, I leave that to the huggers and generally stay beyond hugging radius. Fortunately the typical hugging radius seems quite short so I don't have to disappear towards the horizon.
8 comments:
In our family, cousins, aunts, uncles etc, we hug but we don't kiss on the cheek.
Anon - we only hug two close family members and never did hug aunts and uncles although they are all gone now. Partly a generation thing perhaps.
I'm not a natural hugger either. Nor a kisser. In fact I'm not too keen on the handshake. A friendly punch on the upper arm is fine though. For the ladies I am tempted to act out a kissing of the hand but I've always funked it.
I like the habit of the late 18th century: the manly bow. But my back would protest nowadays. And the ladies surely would rather not curtsy. Perhaps they could whisk a fan and look beguiling while peeking from behind it.
dearieme - I'd like to see the return of bowing. I believe it degenerated into a more of a nod but the ladies did it too, sometimes from behind a fan.
Last comfortably done in childhood with mother and father. It seemed easy when their arms could easily enclose you.
Now it seems to be in fashion I cannot do it comfortably. Does one put ones arms below or above those of the hugee? If there is a significant difference in height where does the shorter one put their face. And if the other is well endowed with bosom or stomach any sort of grip is awkward.
Should I stoop down to a short lady. It seems condescending. Literally. I could go on.
It is just a get out for hypocrisy - It is the only greeting where you avoid eye contact.
Doohamer - I cannot do it comfortably either because of similar problems with how to do it. Interesting point about avoiding eye contact, maybe that's the attraction.
Remarkable how alike we are at AKH, I don't like hugging and kissing either. Many Christmases ago, a pretty girl was doing the rounds of a pub where I was with companions, giving all the men a Xmas kiss. I refused to let her kiss me. Other patrons probably thought it very odd.
Tammly - I'd refuse too. Going along with it seems odd to me, not your refusal.
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