Body Language of Ownership Gestures
Cue: Ownership Gestures.
Synonym(s): Placing The Foot On An Object, Feet On The Desk, Placing A Bag or Jacket On A Chair, Propping The Feet Up, Leaning Against A Car or Other Object.
Description: Putting possessions or parts of the body on objects.
In One Sentence: Putting any part of the body on an object (or person) signals ownership and ability or desire to control it.
How To Use it: To reserve a seat, place your jacket or bag on it – that much is simple. However, tossing the arm over the chair next to you is a way to increase your territory through an expansive posture. This shows others that you have special rights to take up more space than normal. If a person is sitting in that chair, you own and control a part of them too.
To show your pride for a car, place your foot up on the bumper or lean against it. To show your desire to control someone else, do the same on their car.
At a friend’s house, show your relaxed attitude and high comfort by placing your feet on the coffee table. This gesture will be read as dominance and ownership.
Use ownership gestures when you want to show other people that you control things or people and that you are dominant enough to state your claim.
Context: General.
Verbal Translation: a) “I own this so I have the right to put parts of my body on them and control how they are used.”
Variant: See Touching or Increase In Touching for a similar gesture which claims ownership of people through touch rather than objects. Also See Leaning Against The Wall.
Cue In Action: a) He was proud of his new car and stood with his foot on the rear bumper showing off his new possession. b) The boss tossed his feet up on the desk, leaned back and interlocked his hands behind his head. c) While watching television after a long day, he propped his feet up on the coffee table. d) He reserved a seat for himself and his date at the cinema by leaving his jacket on one seat and his bag on another.
Meaning and/or Motivation: People often show that they own things by touching them.
Placing objects such as jackets and brief cases on a seat can hold it and delineate temporary ownership while in public. People will prop their foot up on a desk or the bumper of a car to show that they possess and control it.
Alternatively, people will use objects as a crutch when they feel exposed. Leaning against the podium while presenting, a shoulder against the wall in an unfamiliar room, or two hands on the chair in a crowded room are a few ways we convey uneasiness and discomfort. The objects help ground us and produce a strong wide base when our confidence fails us.
Cue Cluster: This is a stand alone cue and requires no additional cues to have meaning. Watch for the level of comfort one has while performing the ownership gesture to decide if a person is using touch to help improve his feelings of insecurity, or claim ownership, thus showing dominance.
Body Language Category: Arrogance or arrogant body language, Dominant body language, Ownership gesture, Territorial displays.
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