The Be Quiet or Shut Up Gesture (Eitan Vilker)

Title: The Be Quiet or Shut Up Gesture

General Information about Item:

Informant Data:

Rahil has lived in East Greenwich, Rhode Island for the last six years. His mother is a physicist, and he and his family are Pakistani, though Rahil has lived in America his whole life. Rahil attends Cole Middle School. He is a gifted student in a family that heavily encourages a focus on education.

Contextual Data:

Cultural Context: Children, much like adults, often enjoy the sound of their own voices more than those of others. Consequently, they often employ gestures that send a strong signal that they want to take over the conversation.
Social Context: This hand gesture was brought up as a result of the interviewer asking what insulting gestures Rahil knew. Most insulting gestures children make are used in school settings, physical activities and games, casual conversations, and at home- in short, the situations in which children spend the majority of their time.

Item:

This gesture is made by raising one’s index finger to one’s mouth. It does not have to be an insult, but it can be used to tell people what they’re saying is not interesting or is stupid. It is more often used in an academic setting or in friendly conversation. If the gesture is made during the middle of a conversation, it is very rude, but if it’s done when someone needs to know that it’s not an appropriate time to speak, the gesture can actually be polite. Children are much more likely to use the gesture at impolite times, however.

Associated File:

Transcript:

“I use this gesture to tell people to shut up or stop talking. I use it at school and talking with friends. I just put my finger to my mouth.”

Collector’s Comments:

This gesture is particularly interesting because it can be used in so many different ways by different people. The fact that it can be both polite and horribly rude is an impressive amount of flexibility for a simple motion that only uses one finger.

Collector’s Name: Eitan Vilker

Tags/Keywords:

Dartmouth Folklore Archive