Body Language of Parallel Legs
Cue: Parallel Legs
Synonym(s): N/A
Description: A female sitting posture best exhibited in a skirt, where the legs are pressed together parallel to each other.
In One Sentence: Parallel legs is a female sitting posture that frames a woman’s legs in a highly sexual way.
How To Use it: Women can use this posture to emphasize their legs by making them appear toned and tight. The cue is effective with a short skirt. High heels will also boost the illusion by increasing leg length. A high slit is another variation which is highly provocative. Women should use this cue to arouse sexual curiosity in men, thus it is reserved for a dating context. Unless women wish to send the cue out to many men and see which is confident enough to approach, she can anchor the cue to a man specifically with eye contact, followed by a smile as eyes are lowered. On a date, this cue can help a woman signal high reproductive value which will elicit men to pursue.
Context: a) General b) Dating.
Verbal Translation: “I’m pressing my legs together to show you, and everyone else, how sexy I am and how firm and toned my legs are – I hope you notice.”
Variant: See Leg Twine, Leg Crossing and Leg Crossing Direction.
Cue In Action: She made fleeting eye contact, uncrossed and re-crossed her legs. His eyes made her uncomfortable, but excited. This made her fidget. This time she uncrossed her legs, made eye contact once again, then she pressed her legs together flexed them tightly against one another while lowering her eyes and blushing. Her leg began to bounce up and down. It had a soothing effect.
Meaning and/or Motivation: One leg pressed against the other makes the legs sexier, toned, and more youthful in appearance. Men find this posture alluring because it draws the eyes in and provides mystery since it is normally done in a short skirt.
Because the legs are not crossed, it adds allure, but avoids appearing crass or easy because the legs are pressed together rather than uncrossed.
Cue Cluster: Watch for other signals of sexual interest to determine the aim of the cue, be it as a general broadcast cue to potential suitors or directed through eye contact to one in particular. Cues such as eye contact coupled with hair play or hair toss, stroking an object such as the stem of a glass can indicate sexual interest.
Body Language Category: Courtship display, Indicators of sexual interest (IOsI).
Resources:
Hewes, Gordon (1957). “The Anthropology of Posture.” In Scientific American (Vol. 196), pp. 122-32.
Morris, Desmond (1994). Bodytalk: The Meaning of Human Gestures (New York: Crown Publishers).
Pease, Barbara and Allan Pease. 2006. The Definitive Book of Body Language Hardcover. Bantam.
Vrugt, Anneke, and Ada Kerkstra (1984). “Sex Differences in Nonverbal Communication.” In Semiotica (50-1/2), pp. 1-41.