Hugs vs shaking hands

[MeTony]

I have been thinking... why do we hug girls and shake hands with other guys?

I was greeted by a fellow scout leader today. He shook my hand hard but hugged the woman next to me. I feel no urge to hug him. But the differance in how we communicate depending on if it is a man or a woman is fascinating.


Tony

[Northern Star Girl]

I have been thinking... why do we hug girls and shake hands with other guys?

I was greeted by a fellow scout leader today. He shook my hand hard but hugged the woman next to me. I feel no urge to hug him. But the differance in how we communicate depending on if it is a man or a woman is fascinating.


Tony

Tony, that is the way it usually is,,,   girls hug, guys shake hands, guys maybe belly-bump if they are good friends having fun and may even hug but it will be a man-hug.....  not a tight hug, definitely a brief hug, usually only one arm around the other man and 3 pats on the back and it is over.... otherwise it gets uncomfortable unless they are very good, long term, friends that they have not seen for a very long time.
Danielle

[Jessica]

Many men feel uncomfortable touching each other.  I know when I gave a hug there were definitely ones that you could feel were not reciprocated.

Hugs and smiles
Your friend, Jess

[AnneK]

Many men feel uncomfortable touching each other.  I know when I gave a hug there were definitely ones that you could feel were not reciprocated.

I've also noticed many women don't know how to shake hands.  They usually just weakly take your hand in theirs, rather than a firm grasp that men normally use.

BTW, some of this may be due to the origins of the hand shake.  It goes back to the days of when people fought with swords and by producing an open hand, you showed you weren't going to attack.  In most cultures, women didn't engage in combat.

[MissyMay2.0]

Hugging is a personal thing to me, so I don't hug just anyone, even in cyberspace 😀

[AnneK]

We have a provincial election in Ontario this Thursday.  It's funny to watch a male candidate meet a female candidate and try to both shake hands and hug.   

[Kylo]

Men and women don't shake hands in the Middle East with each other, or have any physical contact at all usually, unless they are family. Other cultures do stuff like touching heads or kissing on the cheek (even two men). It's just a cultural thing.