Agreed. I'm a hugger. People like to hug me, so I just let them. What's the harm? I've never been in a situation where somebody asks me for a hug and I felt like they were a perv and wanting something more than that, and of course, when I'm hugging people, I'm not thinking it's anything more than that. I don't know what it is, but again, people just like to hug me.
I just feel particularly disheartened and disenchanted that we've reached a point where parenting guides and resources are now urging parents to not hug their kids (unless the kids come to them for a hug first), and teaching their kids not to hug relatives because relatives who expect hugs are violating their consent.
I'm all for teaching children what they need to know about inappropriate touching and physical contact, but I don't believe that hugging should be lumped into that. What's next? Will holding hands be considered sexual harassment, "because the person holding your hand will try to lure you into sex"? What about fist-bumping? Will that become a form of sexual harassment too? "People who want fist-bumps are into sadomasochism, they wanna see how much you can hurt them for their own pleasure." Please.