The Thumbs Down Gesture (Eitan Vilker)

Title: The Thumbs Down Gesture

General Information about Item:

Informant Data:

Daniel was born in Providence, Rhode Island in 2004. His father is an attorney for the state of Rhode Island, and his mother is a psychologist who operates a private practice. Daniel and his family are Jewish. He has lived in the small town of East Greenwich for most of his life. Daniel attends Cole Middle School. His family hails from both Western and Eastern Europe.

Contextual Data:

Cultural Context: Children often use gestures that can be perceived in a neutral or negative light depending upon the situation. Gestures that are universally offensive are more likely to be considered taboo, like the middle finger, so gestures that are insulting sometimes but not always are a favorite of children.
Social Context: This hand gesture was brought up as a result of the interviewer asking what insulting gestures Daniel knew. He learned it from his parents and siblings. 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:

Making this gesture merely involves holding the fingers of one hand into one’s fist and extending one’s thumb. This gesture indicates disapproval with a course of action, an opinion, or another person in general. It can be used as a shorthand for just saying “no” or it can be used in a dismissive fashion.

Associated File:

Transcript:

Collector’s Comments:

This is one of the most open-ended gestures observed. It can be very negative or neutral, and it can have many different meanings and apply to a large range of situations.

Collector’s Name: Eitan Vilker

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Dartmouth Folklore Archive