Christian side hug

A man and woman demonstrate the Christian side hug

The Christian side hug is a term for a display of affection in which a person hugs another by putting one arm around their shoulders, rather than both arms around them, "to avoid the uncontrollable temptation that hugging face-to-face – and therefore crotch-to-crotch – would lead to."^[1]

Origin of the term

The term first gained notoriety in a rap song by Ryan Pann, performed as a skit at the 2009 Encounter Generation evangelical youth conference (EG), hosted by The Fathers House church in Vacaville, CA.^[2] A video of this became a YouTube meme in 2009 and was remarked on by such blogs as Feministe^[3] and Feministing^[4] and from there the mainstream press.^[5] The song's lyrics include such phrases as "This ain’t no front hug zone" and "Jesus never hugged nobody like that." The song's video includes gunshot sounds, sirens, and performers dressed like street thugs.^[1] A critic at the Boston Globe pointed out that the lyrics contain a mixed message in the line "I'm a rough rider teamed up with Christ."^[5]

Pann has said the song was satirizing the Christian habit of side hugging,^[2] but another mock rap video from the conference reinforces the Christian Side Hug song's message,.^[6]

The Christian side hug within the abstinence movement

EG is not the only religious youth organization to encourage side hugs over front hugs, with Brio magazine (published by Focus on the Family), advising readers to refrain from front hugging members of the opposite sex as far back as 2007.^[7]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Christian Side Hug is YouTube hit as celibate rappers warn of 'sinful' hugging". The Guardian. 26 November 2009. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newsvideo/weirdnewsvideo/6663306/Christian-Side-Hug-is-YouTube-hit-as-celibate-rappers-warn-of-sinful-hugging.html. Retrieved 14 September 2011. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "Christian side hugs: The joke's not on fundamentalist Christians". Chicago Tribune. 2009-11-30. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-talk-christian-side-hugnov30,0,6899998.column. Retrieved 2010-11-21. 
3. ^ "Do you think they know what "rough rider" means?". Feministe. 23 November 2009. http://www.feministe.us/blog/archives/2009/11/23/do-you-think-they-know-what-rough-rider-means/. Retrieved 14 September 2011. 
4. ^ "Abstinence-only rap: 'Gimme the Christian side hug'". Feministing. 24 November 2009. http://feministing.com/2009/11/24/abstinence-only-rap-gimme-the-christian-side-hug/. Retrieved 14 September 2011. 
5. ^ ^{a b} Shea, Christopher (24 November 2009). "'Jesus Never Hugged'". Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/brainiac/2009/11/jesus_never_hug.html. Retrieved 14 September 2011. 
6. ^ “”. "Rules Rap Fina Mix". YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hz7gnB6ozw. Retrieved 2010-11-21. 
7. ^ Shellenberger, Susie (2010-11-09). "Youth - Christ of the Bay Lutheran Church - Green Bay, Wis". 74.125.95.132. 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. Retrieved 2010-11-21. 

External links

• "Christian Side Hug" on Vimeo