I know a woman who hugs without asking all the time.

[caraher]

1. There are also men who hug

Certainly someone who insists on hugging the reluctant rather than accepting a handshake is making it all about their own personal preference at the expense of the comfort of someone else. There should be respect for the wishes of the other person. I've seen both men and women do this, though certainly more women than men.

But I don't lose sleep over this any more that I ever did over that nurse in the photo from the end of WWII. And having a few rogue serial huggers around isn't all bad - some people who could use that human contact but would never initiate it themselves probably do benefit from it.

I'm sure it does get old quickly, though, if you run across a compulsive hugger like that and are uncomfortable with that much physical contact.