I’m not a fan of the hugs. Girls are more huggy and they tend to eschew the handshake for the hug. So I hug. I guess I get to feel boobies on my chest, too.
With a guy, there are no boobies. There’s nothing I want to feel there. We don’t need to be slapping plums in some sort of greeting. If I haven’t seen a real close friend in a while, it’s possible, but I don’t initiate it ever. As a matter of fact, there are two friends that I can think of that’d do it.
Meh. It’s not really super gay, but I’d prefer we not. Hell, I’d be down with some forearm dap or some pound. Even the male “Head Nod of Acceptance”
Whenever I see two unrelated males do the shake and hug, if it’s two pats I hear in my head (pat) “Not” (pat) “Gay.” And if it’s three pats, I hear (pat) “We’re” (pat) “Not” (pat) Gay." The S-n-H is straight men tricking themselves into thinking they’re expressing emotions.
Last year, I went to the funeral of a workmate. She was married,but had been the secret lover of a close male friend of mine (also married), and although that had ended many years before, the flame had still been there. I saw my friend at the funeral, and as one of the only people who he’d openly told about the affair, we did the shake and hug.
That’s the only time I ever recall doing it (though it seemed natural to do so then).
For the rest of the time, I like an old-fashioned handshake. Firm, one-handed and nothing fancy (two-hander handshake guys are creepy), and direct eye contact. This applies from a business contact, through friends, right up to my dad.
I do it routinely with my brother, and one very close friend, and that’s it. I wouldn’t have a problem with it coming from any number of guys I know, but generally we seem to stick with a straight-forward handshake.
