Just Hold Me
Do real men like to cuddle?
In fact, future generations may view the Obama-Rahm sandwich as a watershed moment in snuggling history. When CNBC's Larry Kudlow wrote a column in October calling the embrace "a hug too far" and claiming that it "lacked dignity" and revealed weakness to the world, few commentators took his side. Most argued that Kudlow was a jackass for his sensitivity to man-hugs, and that he needed to toughen up and put on his "man pants."
What happened here? Are we becoming a nation of shameless snuggle-bunnies? I believe that we are. In the new era, cuddly men will no longer be deemed wimps. Instead, society will have to designate a new generation of wusses to fill the void: people like Larry Kudlow, people who tremble at the sight of gay men cuddling, people who are terrified to have their junk touched. Today let us bring our epidermises together under a soft banner of cuddliness. The revolution will be staged, conveniently, from bed. Or at least that's where you'll find me—snuggling like the day I was born.
Correction, Dec. 8, 2010: This article originally misidentified John B. Watson as "James B. Watson" on the second mention of the name.
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David Merritt Johns is a doctoral student in Sociomedical Sciences at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.
Illustration by Robert Neubecker. Photograph courtesy of the author.