Photo: Courtesy of ABC.Hangovers are normally a time when we don't welcome much bodily contact.
In fact, we try to keep any human interaction to a minimum. We rely on tried-and-true morning-after cures, like greasy breakfast sandwiches and couch naps. But, a new study suggests men in the U.K. are treating their hangovers with some good old-fashioned cuddle time.
Sociologist Eric Anderson surveyed a group of 40 heterosexual, male, college athletes at Winchester University and found that 37 of them — 93.5% — spend copious amounts of time spooning each other after a hard night out. In this particular study, Anderson defined cuddling as "gentle physical contact for a prolonged period of time." One participant, Matt, explained the logic behind this practice. "If your mate has a headache you can like massage his head, or you just lie there together holding each other and laughing about how awful you feel," he told Anderson. OK, that does sound kind of nice.
Anderson's particularly interested in his findings because of what it indicates about the changing definition of masculinity. "The expansion of esteemed homosocial behaviors for heterosexual men is evidence of an expansion of changing conceptions of masculinity in contemporary culture,” he writes. Or, to quote the epic bromance of J.D. and Turk, it's just guy love. Still, we should keep in mind tht this is a very small sample and can't exactly represent a larger trend. But, in the meantime, is there some sort of hashtag they can all start using so we can see an album of these hangover cuddles? We suggest #brocuddles or #snugglefest. (The Cut)