Hugs for Hire

Companies now exist to provide the necessary daily dose of bodily proximity in which one can rent another person as their personal ‘cuddler’ for a set period of time.  No, this is not a euphemism for the shameful kind of business that takes place in Amsterdam’s Red Light District and is illegal in the U.S. (namely, prostitution) – which, as an aside, should dismantle the logic of pro-choice proponents who argue that legislation cannot tell a person what they can or cannot do with their body, since legislation exists that declares one may not prostitute with their body.  Back from chasing that rabbit trail, we are told that renting someone to cuddle with, who is almost certainly a stranger, is a way for a person to experience comfort, affection and closeness.  This all sounds well and good, except that the professional ‘cuddler’ is a stranger, and thereby categorically eliminates the goals that the company is promoting.  Aside from the fact that a person is paying another person to lie next to them, which sounds all too much like the corporeal form of fraternities and sororities – paying to have friends – affection and closeness, and typically comfort, are realities experienced when they are undergirded by trust and relationships, both of which take time.  I am not against hugs, and although mine usually turn into awkward side hugs, I would cast my ballot for maintaining hugs’ rightful place in society.  In the off chance that someone thinks hugs are improper, scripture goes quite a step further in advocating for greeting one another with a “brotherly kiss,” though if this were attempted at a youth group function I speculate that the ‘brotherly’ modifier would quickly be forgotten.