Tag Archive for Onlookers

What Does Thumbing Indicate?

by  • March 5, 2013 • 0 Comments

Exposed thumbs indicate high confidence. When we feel insecure we tuck our thumbs out of view.

Exposed thumbs indicate high confidence. When we feel insecure we tuck our thumbs out of view.

In Shakespeare’s Romen and Juliet, Capulet’s servant Sampson induces a fight by biting his thumb at Montague’s servant Abraham. This traditional Sicilian gesture is performed today by placing the thumb behind the upper incisors and flicking the thumb forward toward the person you wish to insult. The symbol means “To hell with you.” The thumbs down gesture would have meant death in Roman times for a gladiator, while the thumbs shooting off to the side is associated with a negative thought about someone we wish not to offer respect. It begins or ends a conversation such as “I told you about that guy over there (followed by thumbing in their direction) …he’s up to no good.” However, not all thumb gestures are negative as we see with the thumbs up gesture in western cultures.

BodyLanguageProjectCom - Thumb Displays Or Thumbing 4Thumb displays denote superiority and royalty has made them famous, but they have also been adopted by lawyers trying to seem noble and important. One way thumb displays happen is by placing all but the thumbs in the front pockets of a vest or suite jacket, or by knuckling the vest and leaving the thumbs out. Thumbs-up can also turn a timid interlaced fingers gesture into a positive thoughts gesture by flaring the thumbs up during conversation. Thumbs-out is a representation of ego, dominance, confidence, comfort, assertiveness and sometimes even aggressiveness. The thumbs out gesture is usually found in clusters with other dominant body language. For example, to denote superiority, the legs would also be spread apart, the chest puffed out to appear larger and the head held back, all the while glaring down the nose at any onlookers. The thumbs up gesture, wherever it happens, is a form of “gravity defying’ body language. This means that it is related to positive emotions since it requires energy to do and people that are depressed aren’t interested in burning energy especially wastefully.

We rarely see those with low status carry this posture, but if we do, we certainly will know something “important” about them! Sometimes our boss will be caught walking around his office holding this posture signifying his dominance, or at least his attempt at dominance. Men seeking the affection and attention of women will also sometimes carry thumbing postures, but they might downplay their dominant attitude by holding their hands in their back pockets so as to hide them. Another variation altogether includes flaunting the thumbs by placing them under the arm whilst folded. This last posture is a closed, yet dominant cue cluster. The crossed arms tell others that they are closed off from communication while the exposed thumbs reveal superiority.

The polar opposite to the thumb display is hidden thumbs which may happen by placing just the thumbs in front pockets with the remaining fingers outside. This posture says “I’m unsure of myself” and denotes extreme low confidence and low status. Hidden thumbs can be found when people are timid, insecure, or feel social discomfort and is a childhood throwback to when children stand in front of their parents looking disappointed and saddened.

Emblems: Word Replacement Gestures

by  • March 5, 2013 • 0 Comments

Peace or victory? Depends on your audience! Some gestures can be seen as offensive in different cultures.

Peace or victory? Depends on your audience! Some gestures can be seen as offensive in different cultures.

Emblems or “quotable gestures” are those gestures that are culturally specific which can be used as replacement for words. That is, the gestures have a direct verbal translation. Obviously these gestures will mean different things in different settings and can range from complimentary to offensive. Studies show us that people lower in socioeconomic status gesticulate, which is the action of using gestures while talking, more often than those with higher status. Usually this is tied directly to education, and those who have a higher level of schooling also have a larger vocabulary so instead of using gestures to express themselves, they use words instead.

The middle finger is an obvious gesture to Westerners and so too is the peace sign (or V-sign) which can also mean victory. However, George Bush senior was famously ridiculed for “flipping” the V-sign as he was met with Australian onlookers. In their culture the same gesture is considered an insult. The V-sign where the palm faces outward has long been an gesture meant to insult but not just in Australia, also in England and the rest of the United Kingdom, Ireland and parts of France.

This "a-okay" gesture means good things or a rude piece of human anatomy!

This “a-okay” gesture means good things or a rude piece of human anatomy!

The “hook ’em horns” where the index finger and little finger are extended and the remaining fingers held down with the thumb is poplar to University of Texas Longhorn fans, but when directed to a married Italian man, means that his wife is having an affair. In North America, the “thumbs-up” gestures can mean “great” or “I need a ride” but for Greeks the gestures means “up yours” and is accompanied by a rapid upward and slower downward motion. Another gesture that has multiple cultural meaning is the “OK” sign where the thumb and index finger come together to make an “O” shape with the remaining fingers flared out. In Western cultures this means that things are “A-OK” but in Russia or Turkey, it describes a sexual insult, specifically identifying an orifice. These select few emblems illustrate the importance of cultural context when it comes to gesturing. Since the signals have a direct verbal translation that varies from region to region, it is paramount when one travels, to make note of these differences to avoid a potentially damaging misunderstanding.