Side hug
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The Christian Side Hug is an asexual greeting where one hangs their arm over the shoulder of the person beside them.
Origin
The term comes from a rap song written by Ryan Pann of California. [1] The song was performed as a skit at the 2009 Encounter Generation evangelical youth conference (EG), hosted by The Fathers House church in Vacaville, CA. [2] The song's video, which has become somewhat of an internet hit, attempts humor by including gunshot sounds, sirens, and performers dressed like street thugs.[3]
The Christian Side Hug within the Abstinence Movement
It is difficult to ascertain how much proponents of Christian side hugging believe that front hugging is an actual temptation to more "sinful" behavior. It is likely that the Christian side hug originated at least partially due to pragmatic considerations. For instance, the EG conference's promotion of this alternative greeting is a typical example of strategies Christian youth organizers use in attempting to keep teens focused on a religious event rather than on potential romance. One other such example is Teen Mania's "sunflower" policy. Teen Mania is a Christian evangelical organization that sends mixed-gender groups of youth to be missionaries all over the world.[4] During these trips, which can last for several weeks, teens are forbidden to pay an inordinate amount of attention to members of the opposite sex. If the group leaders decide that a teen is spending too much time with a particular person ("sunflowering", i.e. being drawn to a person like a flower to the sun), disciplinary action may follow.[5] Similarly, the Christian side hug represents the EG conference's efforts to draw hormone-ridden attendees' attention away from potential romantic partners so that they could focus on the religious event at hand. The song's lyrics make it clear that attendees will be sent home if they "front hug," so they should opt for the "Christian side hug" instead.
Whether or not the Christian side hug originated more from an attempt to keep order at a youth rally or from a desire to promote minimum below-the-waist contact as a preferable lifestyle choice, the side hug itself is consistent with the broader pro-abstinent movement. It is comparable to other widespread abstinence-related phenomena, such as purity rings, the virginity pledge, and "holy courtship" [6] (see also Bill Gothard). The Christian side hug's recent notoriety and exposure all but guarantee its implementation by at least a deeply conservative subset of abstinence activists, thus pushing it outside of its original EG conference context. EG is not the only religious youth organization currently encouraging side hugs over front hugs,[7] and rules against front hugging are part of at least some youth leader employment agreements. [8]
References
- ^ http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-talk-christian-side-hugnov30,0,6899998.column
- ^ http://egconference.org/2010/
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_Oj0-splZw
- ^ http://www.teenmania.com/
- ^ Author's personal experience on Teen Mania trips, need pamphlet or rule book or something more concrete
- ^ http://www.courtshipnow.com/
- ^ http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:9Pa9A418fNMJ:christbaylutheran.com/Youth.dsp+%22christian+school%22+rules+side+hug+-rap&cd=14&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
- ^ http://www.foothillsyouth.com/high_school/Volunteer_files/Youth%20Leader%20Application.doc