I'm 24 and will wrap my arms around my old man and get a kiss on the cheek from him whenever. The man made me afterall, and I love him for who I've become. I'll do the handshake-hug kinda thing for a lot of my guy friends, and one guy whose a good friend of mine is an all out hug guy. It doesn't bother me one bit. I guess I can understand where the distant people are coming from, but when it comes down to it, I'm a care-free hugger.

 

Ill hug my close close friends, but only with the hand shake in between us and two pats on the back during the hug then its ended. Me and my Dad dont really hug anymore, havent in a very long time but i still put my arm around his shoulders. As far as strangers, no i wont hug them. Shake the hand, yeah but no hug.

 

Hugged my stepdad when I got home out of the service, I had been gone 18 months.
Hugged my brother in law when his 17 y/o daughter got killed.
Not much into the guy hugging thing.

 

in some countries men kiss each other. its their custom. but when i see guys hugging i think its wierd. i'm used to seeing pakistani guys in pajamas kissing each other because i lived next do a mosque and that's what THEY do and they live here now. but i'm not used to seeing two guys hugging after work. i'm thinking what is that the new "metrosexual" thing. like they're trying to show us something, not a spontaneous affection between brothers or two old friends

it's not any religion or ideology. i'm not homophobe. gays been around for thousands of years and never hurt anyone. they should be allowed to love each other, get married and adopt kids same as men and women do. just my dad never hugged me and i never had any brothers to hug so probably why i don't hug guys.

 

I don't think it's a big deal if you really know the person and care about them. My youth pastor and I used to hold eachother while everybody was watching....now don't think that's totally bad cause we were close and still are. He is an amazing man and I love him. I guess I really didn't care what people thought. Although....I probably do now, but yes if any of my friends were having a hard time with things I would so totally not chicken out. Hugs are good. Now I sound gay....lol... hugs and kisses....lol.

 

i dont really care what other guys do but im not comfortable hugging another guy, i havent done it, besides my dad or grandpa and i dont plan on it. the only person im comfortable hugging and enjoy it, is my girlfriend.

 

What Theo said

 

Yes, but I'm never the initiator....

 

As a female (who are much more prone to hugging, IMO) I have certain comfort zones as well as some of you guys.

I have no problems with hugging my parents, siblings, hubby and kids, BUT I also have a female friend ( no, not a girlfriend ) that comes from an extremely huggy family. She seems to have no sense of personal space and frequently sits as close to me as possible, hugs CONSTANTLY and seems to have very little modesty. It makes me VERY uncomfortable sometimes and my husband swears this woman is gay! I don't think she is (long and lurid story), but she creeps him out too, sometimes!

I have also been in situations that I have hugged and tried to comfort a total stranger. Sometimes I just feel compelled to hug someone who is in apparent emotional distress. My heart just aches from their sadness, grief, despair, etc, and I feel like I would be an insensitive jerk if I didn't try to offer some comfort. Sometimes, a hug from a stranger can be more encouraging than a hug from someone who knows you well.

Also, as a female poster on just a few message boards I would have to say that you guys and gals here at FTE are the kindest, most honest and hilarious bunch of people. A GREAT website! I am even thinking about taking auto tech at the local university!

Thanks for your motivation and inspiration!
aerostargal

 

what's your friend's name ...

 

You may have already met her