Cultural Aspects
Greetings will vary from culture to culture. Certain cultures, such as in East Asia, are seen as low-touch cultures, in which men are more likely to bow to each other. Other cultures, such as the Central Asian, the Middle Eastern, and the Mediterranean, are characterized by a marked physical intimacy between men. Still other cultures, such as the American, are an amalgam between the two, and the male hug is seen as reflective of those values.
Mark Anthony Neal, Duke University professor of black popular culture, states that when with men, he'll use a certain kind of hug - as long as the other guy also is black. "If I was greeting a white guy, I would probably never go for the hug, it would always immediately be the handshake," says Neal. "In the case of Black males, particularly around my age, 40, it's the hip-hop hug: a handshake, you pull yourselves together, and you bump."
Read more about this topic: Pound Hug
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