Have no problem giving close friends a hug. One of my best friends is half-Italian and is big into them, yet if a gay guy made any sort of move on him he would smash a glass off the floor and prepare for war. But with his friends he always shows his affection with a hug.
Spent a summer in New York as a bus boy clearing tables and doing deliveries, most of my co-workers were Mexican and South American. The waiting staff were all white, pretty much all of them budding actors, some of them gay. So the day I was finishing up and saying goodbye to everyone I shook hands with all the guys in my section, then moved out to the restaurant floor and said goodbye to all of the waiters and waitresses, was saying goodbye to the host who greets and seats people when they arrive, he was a gay guy from Texas with permed hair, we always got on well and he said 'Give me a hug'. I said 'Sure man I'll give you a hug, best of luck', and as we were hugging I caught the eye of one of my Mexican colleagues staring over, if looks could kill I would have been on the floor. Was as if I had betrayed him. Guess man hugs are totally out of line in his culture but I've no problem with them.
