Body Language of Neck Exposure
Cue: Neck Exposure
Synonym(s): Exposing The Neck, Showing The Neck.
Description: A cue originating primarily from women in dating and children in general where the neck is exposed by removing long hair or canting to the side.
In One Sentence: Neck exposure is a submissive signal.
How To Use it: Women benefit best from using the neck exposure nonverbal signal as it tells others that they are willing to submit. In dating, exposing the neck by canting the head to the side is alluring to men as it shows attraction. To amplify the posture, brush hair aside or lightly stroke the neck to draw gaze in that direction. Eye contact helps anchor the cue to a specific person.
Children can also benefit from the posture in much the same ways as women because it shows that they are not willing to put up a fight. This usually elicits a helping response from adults.
Context: a) General b) Dating.
Verbal Translation: “I’m trusting and submissive of your dominance and am showing you this by exposing my vulnerable neck by canting to the side or removing my hair.”
Variant: See Wrist Exposure Displays, Head Tilted or Head Cocked To The Side.
Cue In Action: a) She really wanted a pony so she canted her head to the side, twirled her hair around her finger to reveal her neck as she gazed up at her Dad doe-eyed. b) She really wanted him, so she canted her head to the side, twirled her hair around her finger to reveal her neck as she gazed up at him doe-eyed.
Meaning and/or Motivation: Exposures of the neck are a visceral responses linked to submissiveness and are displayed during courtship by women and by children.
Children are often seen bending or canting their heads to the side in order to elicit a protective response in adults.
Women will do likewise when sexually aroused. In a dating context, women show their trust and willingness to submit to men, by revealing their necks. While the neck is not inherently sexy on its own, it is a way that people signal trust when facing authority. The neck contains many nerve endings so are very sensitive. A woman’s neck is also far less robust, more dainty, longer than mens’, with less musculature. The neck is an extremely vulnerable part of our bodies which we defend rigorously if attacked, and the genes we have as a result of eons of evolutionary history supports this. One well placed bite to the throat by cat like predators instantly immobilizes their prey.
Cue Cluster: a) Children who cant their heads to reveal their necks will also lower their eyes and cast them upwards, the might show a fat lower lip to gain sympathy, they may also bat their eyes, turn their palms up pleading, hug your leg, whine and shrug their shoulders.
b) You can imagine a woman might seductively remove her long hair by bringing it over to one side, or twisting it around a finger then flexing to the side flashing her neck. She might tilt her head to the side by dropping her head and bring her hand up to carefully stroke and caress the skin on her neck just lightly, so as to draw a man’s eyes on her. In more overt cases, woman can even display sexually by coming so close that the neck invites a kiss.
Body Language Category: Amplifier, Appease, Courtship displays, Indicators of sexual interest (IOsI), Nonthreatening body language, Pseudo-infantile gestures, Readiness to submit postures, Submissive body language.
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