Folklore Form/Genre: Italian gesture

Informant: Evan Barton

General Info about Item:

• Insulting gesture, customary folklore
• Language: Italian
• Country of origin: Italy
• Informant: Evan Barton
• Date collected: 11/2/2018

Informant Data:

Evan Barton was born on November 3, 1997 in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. He grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma. His father is half Italian, and he visited his grandparents frequently. Evan is currently a junior at Dartmouth College where he is majoring in Native American Studies. He is on the Ujima Dance Troupe and is a member of the local fraternity The Tabard. He also works at Novack, the school cafe.

Contextual Data:

        Social Context: This piece of folklore was collected in the Dartmouth Baker Berry Library. During his interview, he talked about how he was extremely close with his grandmother and would visit his grandparents a lot. During these visits, his grandmother would tell him about her Italian background and once showed him an insulting gesture as a fun joke.

        Cultural Context: When telling the story, Evan smiled at the memory and the joke he shared with his grandmother. Evan is a proud member of the LGBTQ community, and it is ironic that the gesture is an insult about a man’s female partner. The gesture he shared means “your wife/girlfriend is not faithful.” This gesture is used to taunt men and tease them about their girlfriends.

Item:

Curling your middle and ring finger down with your thumb, with your index and pinky finger sticking up and facing outwards means “your wife/girlfriend is not faithful.”

Associated Image:

Informant’s Comments:

Evan thought this gesture was fun to learn because he could tease his friends with it, but the gesture would not have the same impact on him.

Collector’s Comments:

I think this gesture is interesting because it has a “rock n’ roll” connotation in the United States, but has a completely different meaning in Italian culture.

Collector’s Name: Lizzie Clark and Emily Wang

Tags/Keywords: gestures, insults, Italian