Body Language of Wrist Exposure Displays
Cue: Wrist Exposure Displays.
Synonym(s): Showing The Wrist, Displaying The Wrist, Stroking The Wrist, Exposing The Wrists.
Description: Removing clothing, stroking the wrist, turning the palms up, or playing with an earring that causes the wrists to be exposed.
In One Sentence: Showing the wrist is a female posture signaling submission.
How To Use it: The wrist signal is a female or feminine posture that women (and possibly gay men) use to signal submission. The wrists are a vulnerable part of the body and like the neck, when displayed, signal that a person is willing to heed to the dominance of another. Women can flash the wrist by turning the hands palm up, or lightly stroke the wrists with an index finger. This is not particularly noticeable to men, however, if done correctly, it will elicit a subconscious attraction response in him at a low cost to you.
Context: Dating.
Verbal Translation: “I wish to submit to your dominance so I’m exposing my delicate and vulnerable wrists.”
Variant: See Neck Exposure.
Cue In Action: She frequently fiddled with her earring or her wristwatch while on her date. This helped calm herself, as she was excited just being around him.
Meaning and/or Motivation: Exposures of the wrist, palm and neck are visceral responses linked to submissiveness and are displayed or flashed during courtship by women. Flashing of the wrist indicates that trust is present during courtship.
In men, flashing the wrist or loosely bending at the wrist is an effeminate signal. Thus, men and women share a similar submissive origin for this nonverbal signal.
Cue Cluster: Watch for other submissive courtship cues such as head bowed, eyes cast upward, neck titling, shoulder shrugs, giggling, batting eyelashes, self stroking, playing with the hair or self grooming, among many others.
Body Language Category: Appease, Approach tell, Auto contact or self touching, Courtship display, Indicators of sexual interest (IOsI), Readiness to submit postures, Tie signals.
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