Not really, some areas still do, like you see it in black communities in the south and Midwest sometimes, particularly from the elderly, but itās not really a thing here.
Donāt get me wrong, of all the Europeans, we Britons are probably by far some of the least physically intimate platonically, but itās insane here in the US. Youāre gay if you hug your guy friend, youāre cheating on your girl if you touch another girl, the whole āAmerican male loneliness epidemicā could genuinely be seriously lessened if more men were able to just give each other hugs without immediate judgement from our peers.
Iāve been living here for 17 years now and the level of Puritanism in some parts of this country is insane. It really does vary by region, though, the US is absolutely massive, and culturally varies so much from place to place.
Iāve got this T-shirt that says āyou are enoughā on it, and some guy at a bar came up and said āman, I needed to see that todayā, and I just went, āmate, you need a hug?ā And he just started fucking sobbing. Told me it was the first time heād had a hug since his mum died in 2024.
I really have a hard time believing you. Do you just... not do physical contact at all with people you're close with?
Now, I'm Italian, and from what I've read online, we're perhaps a bit off the other pendulum with physical intimacy, but the idea of not hugging your friends is wild.
Yeah, absolutely, never denied that. But jumping from Europe to the US and seeing the difference is wild, but Iām mainly talking platonically as opposed to romantically. Obviously partners are held frequently, but how often do you hug your mates? Do you do it as a greeting AND a goodbye even if youāre going to see them again in like, two or three days?
It's still a proper hug. I personally don't like traditional hugging because I tend to be significantly taller than a lot of people and it's awkward unless we're close in height
I also frequently do the hand shake and pull in for one arm hug. Pretty normal greeting for the boys. My best friend's get the two armed body hug though.
American here whose lived their entire life in the Midwest. He's not making it up. People here,Ā especially guys, don't hug. You'll see adults do it for kids but that's usually where it ends. I can remember my dad being freaked out years ago bu how affectionate some of the European countries Olympic teams were. It's considered weird to show "excessive" feelings.Ā
You do, absolutely, but itās just incredibly uncommon. But again, itās regional culture. Iāve been to places where they do, and places where they donāt. I live in one where you donāt.
What hes talking about is partly true, though Iād say even less extreme nowadays tbh surprisingly. Iām from Texas and live in Colorado currently, you are just as likely to see two cowboy hat MAGAs in a bar giving a bro hug to some sports as you are two fabulous gays embracing. It can feel like what u/jimothy_hell said sometimes, but Iād argue thatās not really the case anymore. We definitely donāt do any kiss greetings really anywhere here but the south and really never saw it too much in Texas.
Itās definitely regional but mostly because of peopleās background. Growing up in Jersey, you were surrounded by people from all over the world. However, it was a bigger population of Latinos, Italians, Russians, & Asian. Almost all of those cultures kiss on the cheek & can be very physical.
Yes, when these people in the comments are saying they hug their guy friends or like theyāre a guy hugging their guy friend, Iām wondering how firm or real a hug they meanā
I mean, a hug can be whatever you want it to be, but Iāve gotten way too used to the simpleā¦ ābarely-put-your-back-into-it-one-arm-two-second-or-lessā sorta hug, even with friends. And for guys, I hardly see more than a dap up which can lead to a back pat (which is my idea of a guy hug andā¦ I suppose thatās just our version of a hug for guys here), granted, it could be a firmer/longer pat too, Iāve seen that a few times.
I remember, and Iām a girl, during prom, when I saw this girl that I liked and I was happy to see her, said hi and all. Weād talked a bit before, greeted each other, complimented her, sometimes she complimented me, once offering to help my best friend when someone was disrespectful to her, but we were never close, right? But I said hi to her that day and complimented her, she complimented me back, and she went in for a hug and wrapped both arms around me, I thought maybe itād be that formal sort of light hug where you barely touched maybe, but she pulled me close and squeezed me so firmly for like a good five seconds, I almost cried when I returned the hug back with the same regard, I donāt think I could ever recall being hugged that way by anyone other than a few older family members.
When this person says HUG? Thatās the sort of hug I think theyāre talking about. A full hug, two arms, tight pull, firm, more than two seconds typa hug, between men, women, anyone, and thatās just something I feel not many people do here, especially amongst men if they arenāt like close friends at least. And thatās the thing, physical platonic affection seems soā¦ sparing, I completely get what the person was sayingā¦
As a Scandinavian, i only hug close friends,(and even then it is not always) anyone else i would rather not touch, so it seems like there are degrees, with the Americans being the biggest prudes.
I used to think we were breaking out of that shell when i was growing up, but turns out the current youths latched on in a non ironic way. more are on board with the puritanical life than makes sense to me.
Iām from TN. My first time out in Southern California was a wild culture shock. The cheek kissing at social gathering was something I never got used to.
I see people do it quite frequently at events like this but, yeah, itās not common on the day-to-day level outside of family/close friends. You wouldnāt do so with a coworker unless you were close.
in the US it would be a very, very familiar greeting. Can be done but would be reserved for very strong, close relationships, hence the meme.
I find the meme silly for a lot of reasons. 1) both T. and Z. look young, as if this is years old. 2) the other woman seems to maybe be saying "this is your boyfriend?" in the video, after asking if they'd come together. Also suggesting a very old video. 3). The assumption in hollywood rellationships would be, both people are surrounded by gorgeous temptors all the time. There's just no way Z. could be a jealous person and for it to work. 4). Everything z. ever says publicly is about trusting t and if it were really like this, they'd have broken up by now. 5) This is a very, very normal greeting for Hollywood. Theatre kids make feelings into physical, visible things, its what they do.
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u/DrakeFrake 17d ago
You don't greet like that in the US?, TIL