Shere Hite

In her contribution to e-flux, Shere Hite gives instructions for her performance of hugging a close friend of possibly a loved one, however loved one in a sense that you two have a platonic relationship, unless you can keep the act of hugging from moving towards sex. We are instructed to embrace this close friend for not 30 but 31 minutes and can only say a maximum of 20 words to the other. The performance is supposed to be videotaped by a camera on a tripod, because nobody else is allowed to be in the room throughout the 31 minutes. After you are done filming, you are supposed to name your performance using only one word and mail that word to Shere at the address that she listed.

Hite is an avid observer in relationships mainly focusing on feminism, sexuality and family issues. She has written a couple of books that help to explore sexuality. Her book Sexual Honesty is one that attempts to look over the complexity of sexuality, ranging from numerous types of sexual individuals. Given that she specifically mentions that the performance should not lead to sex, I'm led to believe that it was devised to help individuals explore the act hugging and what such a close embrace can stand for besides something sexual. Keeping the dialogue to a minimum of 20 words allows for some conversing, however you are forced to chose your words wisely. After the performance is through, you have one word to name what you just went through, the word would most likely describe what the moment was like for the individual which could say a lot about either the individual themselves or the relationship that the two participators have.