Sunday, February 16, 2020

Information About & Videos Of African American Women Giving Hugs When Greeting People Or Saying Goodbye

Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest Update: March 8, 2020

This pancocojams post presents information about how a number of African American women sometimes greet and say goodbye to each other and some men.

This post also includes a video of "Black women hugging" and two other related videos.

The content of this post is presented for cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.

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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE
This post is closely related to the 2020 pancocojams post entitled "The History & Meanings Of African American's Dap Handshakes (with YouTube videos)" https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2020/02/the-history-meanings-of-african.html

Daps are usually done only by men to other men.

Here's how some African American women often greet each other and how we often greet African American men:
Depending on who they are and where they are (for instance, whether or not they are in a predominately Black setting or a predominately White setting) some African American women greet other African American women and African American men by briefly and lightly hugging each other. This form of hugging is usually to the side and not belly to belly.

Sometimes African American women will pat each other or Black men on the back while hugging and sometimes we will give air kisses (pretend to give a kiss on each cheek of the person being hugged).

"The hug" with or without patting on the back and/or air kisses is the expected form of greeting that most Black women do and expect to receive at Black functions such as an African dance program and a Kwanzaa gathering.

I've also given "the hug" to some non-Black women-and less often, some non-Black men- depending on our setting and how familiar and comfortable with African American culture I believe they are.
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UPDATE: This pancocojams post was written before cases of the coronavirus became known in China and throughout the world, including in the United States.

UPDATE: March 8, 2020
There's no doubt in my mind that that virus has changed and will continue to change the physical ways that people greet each other and say goodbye. My guess is that there will be a significant decrease in hugs, handshakes, daps, giving fist bumps, and slapping five. I wonder if those greetings/farewell gestures will even be put aside completely if the coronovirus becomes a pandemic-even more so than it already is.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/05/giving-daps-intricate-handshakes.html for a 2012 pancocojams post entitled Elbow Bump, Namaste, ASL Sign For Love, Wakanda Salute, And Other Alternatives To Handshakes & Hugs".

That pancocojams post was published after coronavirus (COVID-19) resulted in more people throughout the world considering alternates to handshakes, hugs, daps, and also "slapping five".

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SHOWCASE VIDEOS
1. The Ben Show - Black Women Hugging



Comedy Central, Apr 23, 2014

When you're feelin' down and you need some lovin', just look at black women hugging.
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In my experience, the longer, more enthusiastic hugs that are shown in this video with huggers rocking back and forth are only done between people who know each other well and may not have seen each other for some time.

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2. Greetings and Goodbyes, Hug or Handshake? Hugging and American Culture



Rachel's English, Oct 20, 2015

Americans usually hug when saying 'hello' or 'good-bye'. But sometimes it's a handshake instead -- and sometimes it gets awkward! In this video, Rachel goes over when to hug and when to shake hands in American culture.
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In my experience, in some settings (as I mentioned in Pancocojams Editor's Note above), a hug is expected even if you are just meeting a person. This differs from the statement that is made at .40 in this video "You don't do this [give a hug] to someone you've never met. However, I agree with the woman speaking in this video that hugs are usually not done in formal settings.

By the way, the comments in this video's discussion thread are quite interesting as they include comments about hugging/air kissing as greetings/goodbyes from people from various nations throughout the world.

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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE
I haven't found a video of African American women giving air kisses.

However, here's a video of air kissing for greeting and saying goodbye in European cultures. That air kissing is somewhat similar to some African American women (in certain settings) when greeting or saying goodbye to other women or to men.

The Etiquette of Social Kissing



engclass0, Dec 20, 2007

How do many Europeans greet each other at social gatherings?

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