Interesting thread.

I'm in eastern WaState and find that I don't get odd stares or BS from people when I hug my male friends. A good hug to say Hi or goodbye seem to go basically unnoticed. Even my straight guy friends are comfortable with this and engage in it with no problem.

I recently returned from Liberia where males walking hand in hand was a common, daily sight. I worked for an 'ahem' international organization with people from all around the world and I was really quite surprised how many cultures readily accept this with no problem. It gave me lots of strength to do it more when I returned back to the states because I valued the closeness it encourages.