Folklore Form/Genre: Italian gesture
Informant: Lauren McNabb
General Info about item:
- Insulting gesture, customary folklore
- Language: Italian
- Country of origin: Italy
- Informant: Lauren McNabb
- Date collected: 11/4/18
Informant Data:
Lauren McNabb was born on September 25, 1998 in Hong Kong. Her family later moved to Taiwan, where she spent most of her childhood. She has a very large family, with a diverse ethnic and cultural background. Her grandmother is Italian. Currently, Lauren is a junior at Dartmouth College where she is majoring in computer science and is a member of the local Chi Delta sorority.
Contextual Data:
Social Context: During this visit to Italy, Lauren’s grandparents taught her multiple gestures, two of which are meant to insult people. Without knowing the meanings behind the gestures, Lauren went around sharing what she had just learned with the rest of her family. After doing one of the insulting gestures, her parents and grandparents burst into laughter. They then told her what it meant, thinking it was funny that she had just offended her family without knowing.
Cultural Context: When explaining and demonstrating these gestures, Lauren had a childish smile on her face. She remembered how it turned into a funny memory between her parents and grandparents. Lauren learned these gestures from her grandparents when she visited her family in Sicily, Italy. During her trip to Italy, she noted how her Italian relatives incorporated lots of gestures throughout the conversation and how they seemed to be talking without using any words.
Item:
Pinching your fingers together, with the fingertips facing upward while twisting your hand means “loser you’re all alone.”
Associated video and transcript (see below)
Informant’s Comments:
Lauren remarked that she now knows not to use these gestures to others unless you want to upset someone. However, she sometimes still uses them with her parents as a funny inside joke.
Collector’s Comments:
I think it is interesting how both the gestures Lauren provided involved pinching of the fingers together.
Collector’s Name: Lizzie Clark and Emily Wang
Tags/Keywords: gestures, insults, Italian