The Hidden Meaning Behind Bedroom Eyes or Dilated Pupils
Cue: Bedroom Eyes or Dilated Pupils.
Synonym(s): Dilated Pupils, Wide pupils, Big Pupils, Pupil Dilation.
Description: When the eyes view something arousing, the pupils dilate or widen so as to allow more light to penetrate the retina and improve vision.
In One Sentence: Eyes in which the pupils dilate demonstrate a state of arousal which can be due to negative or positive emotional stimuli.
How To Use it: Artificially lowering the lights by the use of dimmers or candle light can make the pupils dilate. This makes the eyes appear more attractive. Women who wish to make their online photos appear more alluring may artificially doctor their images by enlarging their pupils. Contact lenses with large pupils can also produce the same effect. While it is not consciously possible to dilate the pupils, avoiding bright locations can produce the impression of higher arousal and even attraction. This can produce desired effects in a dating context.
Context: a) Dating b) General.
Verbal Translation: “I am aroused by what I’m seeing and want to take it all in.”
Variant: See Beady Little Eyes.
Cue In Action: a) When she saw the man of her dreams walk into the room, her eyes became fully dilated – she had bedroom eyes for him. b) Mother’s eyes dilated as she gazed adoringly at her newborn.
Meaning and/or Motivation: In body language pupils react to arousal, be it from fear or attraction of any kind. When the eyes view something stimulating, they dilate or open so as to allow more light to penetrate making seeing easier.
Various studies show that our pupils also respond to positive stimuli by constricting when a person sees unpleasant or uninteresting stimuli. For example, pupils constrict when viewing nude images of the same sex but dilate when viewing images of the opposite sex. Viewing unpleasant images such as crippled children, war scenes, or torture, leads to the constriction of the pupils.
Increased pupil size can be an indication of any positive stimuli such as food when hungry, or when seeking companionship, other potential suitors in a room. Italian women in the 18th century would place eye drops called belladonna containing atropine to chemically induce their eyes to dilate in order to elicit attention from men.
Cue Cluster: Various other cues might arise in accompaniment with bedroom eyes such as coy smiles, head tilting and various flirty and courtship behaviour such as hair tossing. In a general context we expect to see more positive body language such as relaxed facial expressions, eye contact, arms uncrossed, body leaning in, head titled to the side and so forth.
Body Language Category: Courtship display, Arousal, Autonomic signal, Indicators of sexual interest (IOsI), Liking.
Resources:
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