Christian side-hugs

Anyone who's ever been part of a church is likely to have heard of (or maybe even witnessed) the legendary Christian Side-hug. As far as my understanding of it goes, some church-goer somewhere decided that there's something icky about giving your brother/sister in Christ a good old fashioned front-on hug.

Cue the invention of what may be the most awkward means of social interaction ever concieved. Yup. It's SIDE HUG TIME!!!!
Now people don't have to face the impurity associated with an old fashioned and borderline making out way to display friendly affection. Instead, you can awkwardly stand beside the person, grab their shoulder, and smile as they turn to look at you. You'll be physically and emotionally uncomfortable, but comfortable in the knowledge that the huggee won't misconstrue your behavior as a sexual advance.

It seems to me that there is something wrong with this concept though:
Christian side-hugs tend to side-step the intimacy that a hug is meant to convey. Some would argue that this is a good thing as regular hugs are altogether too intimate and should be reserved for married couples. But really, anybody who lives around people should know that being in love is not the only reason that people give one another hugs. Hugs can express sympathy, congratulations, joy, friendship and of course, love, both in the romantic and nonromantic sense. A friend of mine gives me a hug each time she sees me. I don't misconstrue it as attraction. We just rarely get to see one another, so when we do, a hug seems to her to be the appropriate response. If this friend (who is also a Christian, I might add) walked up to me and layed a big ol' side hug on me, I'd be nothing short of confused. As polite as the Christian side hug is, it just wouldn't convey the same emotion that a slightly crushing bear hug does. Basically, a side hug is for people who barely know each other, in which case, there seem to be other possibilities to communicate what you intend (hallmark cards, handshakes, and just plain speaking, to name just a few).

In essence, the side hug allows us to wear a mask around the very people with whom we should be most honest. It makes it okay not to get to know a brother or sister well enough to actually want to hug them when the situation warrants it. It's causing distance in churches which will inevitably prevent unity.
I'm sure it was a well intentioned idea, but I think that we should start to forgo the Christian side-hug and the mask that it allows us to hide behind in favour of being ourselves around other people who share our love of Jesus.