Hugging is truly in danger of extinction in our society.
For instance, if you watch television, movies, etc., you will almost never see a full body hug, in preference of the A hug.
An A hug is one in which only the shoulders and arms of the two people in the hug are involved. This is a brief, polite hug, and probably only has a duration of a couple of seconds.
A true hug is full bodied. It does not care about appearance, length, etc., but simply hugs and holds, unembarassed of being human.
A true hug may include the touching of cheeks or foreheads. It is a reassurance of existence and relationships.
We, as a society, seem to have become embarrassed of this reaffirmation.
We fear to touch our children, to teach them affection, for fear of being accused of molestation or abuse. We fear to touch each other, that we might display some weakness in this independence important, dog-eat-dog world.
And if we lose the ability to touch, then on some level we lose the ability to be human.
Sex, by the way, is not hugging. Hugging is affection itself... it may lead to things, but its purpose is reassurance, comfort, friendship... not lust, not arousal, but saying to somebody "you exist as a facet of my life, and I am proud of this."
Life is empty without hugs. Without being held, reaffirmed by our fellow humans.
Let us hug.