Author Archives: f002qtg

Pinky Raise

General Information about Item:

  • Genre: Gesture
  • Place Collected: Dartmouth College, Hanover NH
  • Date Collected: November 14, 2019
  • Country of Origin: China
  • Informant: Jess Zhang

Informant Data: 

Jess Zhang is a 20 year old, female, Dartmouth student in the class of 2021. She was born in Harbin, China and lived there until the age of ten. She currently lives outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context: The gesture is used to express distaste or disapproval toward a person in a relatively mild manner. It is often compared to the more obscene gesture of raising the middle finger, which is used in many cultures to signify extreme contempt. Jess describes the pinky raise as a less severe form of the middle finger, which can be used as an insult or jokingly among friends. She says the meaning is highly context dependent, and given the correct setting, it could be appropriate to direct this gesture at one’s parents, which would be highly unusual in the case of the middle finger. This gesture was very popular among youth when Jess was living in China, but since then, the middle finger has become more popular with young people and this gesture has largely been replaced.

Item: This gesture is performed by forming a loose fist with the knuckles facing toward the person at whom the gesture is directed, and raising the pinky to a vertical position.

Associated file (a video):

Collector’s Name: Sophie Byrne

Tags/Keywords:

  • Hand Gesture
  • China

Orchid Flower Fingers

General Information about Item:

  • Genre: Gesture
  • Place Collected: Dartmouth College, Hanover NH
  • Date Collected: November 14, 2019
  • Country of Origin: China
  • Informant: Jess Zhang

Informant Data: 

Jess Zhang is a 20 year old, female, Dartmouth student in the class of 2021. She was born in Harbin, China and lived there until the age of ten. She currently lives outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context: The gesture is used as an expression of beauty and femininity, but Jess believes any more definite meaning may have been lost. She learned the gesture from her grandmother, who performs it often, and also remembers seeing it used in television shows her grandfather was watching. Jess most often encounters this gesture when talking with family, and sometimes uses it in a joking manner when among friends. She says that the gesture was most popular when her grandparents were young, and is taken less seriously by youth today.
  • Cultural Context:  The gesture was originally used in Peking Opera performances, which Jess described as a dominant form of Chinese culture involving singing accompanied by choreographed arm movements. The Orchid Flower Fingers is one of many hand gestures created in this context, but has since become recognized outside of these performances. The orchid in Chinese culture represents beauty.

Item: This gesture is performed by pressing the tip of the thumb against the tip of the middle finger to form an oval, and raising the other fingers slightly so they are curved above the middle finger in a manner that resembles the petals of an orchid. The gesture can be performed using the ring finger and thumb, but this is less common.

Associated file (a video):

Collector’s Name: Sophie Byrne

Tags/Keywords:

  • Hand Gesture
  • China

Dame

General Information about Item:

  • Genre: Gesture
  • Place Collected: Hanover, NH
  • Date Collected: November 14th, 2019
  • Country of Origin: Japan
  • Informant: Jack Burgess

Informant Data:

  • Jack Burgess is a 21 year old, male student in the class of 2020 at Dartmouth College. He was born and raised in Arizona, and still lives there when not in school. When in sixth grade, Jack spent six months living in Japan and attended middle school there.

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context: Jack learned this gesture while attending middle school in Japan. He remembers girls in his band using it often to indicate an idea or behavior was not okay. He described the gesture as meaning, “That’s a no-no,” and said that it was primarily used when discussing a course of action to reject a suggestion. The common response to the gesture would be a sense of shame and backing down. Jack believes the gesture is universally understood in Japan, but primarily used by children of elementary school age.
  • Cultural Context: Jack noted that when grading assignments, Japanese school teachers mark correct answers with an ‘o’ and incorrect answers with an ‘x’. Therefore, the ‘x’ symbol indicates someone has done something wrong outside of the context of this gesture.

Item:

  • This gesture is performed by holding one’s arms out in front of one’s chest, bent at the elbow and crossing them so they meet at a 90 degree angle, resembling an X. The performer then taps their wrists together twice and accompanies the gesture by speaking the word “Dame”, which means “No” in Japanese.

Associated file:

Informant’s Comments: Given that the origins of this gesture stem from the significance the ‘x’ has due to its use in grading, it is especially interesting that the gesture is most popular among elementary school aged children, who are likely exposed to the ‘x’ as a negative symbol very often.

Collector’s Name: Sophie Byrne

Tags/Keywords:

  • Gesture
  • Japan

Forehead Tap

General Information about Item:

  • Genre: Gesture
  • Place Collected: Hanover, NH
  • Date Collected: November 11th, 2019
  • Country of Origin: Switzerland
  • Informant: Jacqueline Byrne

Informant Data:

  • Jaqueline Byrne is my sister, an 18 year old, female, Dartmouth student in the class of 2022. She was born in London, England and raised between Bermuda, Switzerland and the United States. She has been visiting Switzerland yearly since she was very young, and lived there for three years between the ages of 10 and 13. Jacqueline currently studies theater at Dartmouth College and lives in Montreal, Canada when not in school.

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context: This gesture is used to indicate that the performer of the gesture thinks whoever they are addressing or speaking about is stupid. The gesture is universally understood in Switzerland, but rarely used, as it is considered highly offensive. It is primarily used among friends when discussing someone who is not present to indicate their idiocy. To direct this gesture at someone would be seen as extremely rude. Jacqueline learned this gesture at the international school she attended soon after moving to Switzerland. She was warned by a teacher not to rest her fingers near her forehead, for if her actions were mistaken for a performance of this gesture, she could easily seem disrespectful. Jacqueline believes this gesture is also common in Germany, where it can be directed at one’s friend to jokingly indicate their stupidity. She does not think it would be used jokingly in Swiss culture.
  • Cultural Context: Switzerland borders France, Italy and Germany, and its culture is heavily influenced by all three countries. However, the Swiss also have their own values and traditions. As a people, they are known to appreciate organization, be highly formal with strangers and adhere very strictly to unspoken social rules.

Item:

  • This gesture is performed by forming a loose fist with only the index finger raised, then tapping the forehead near the temple with the tip of the index finger multiple times.

Associated file:

 

Informant’s Comments: Given the tendency within Swiss culture to be extremely formal around strangers and acquaintances, it makes sense that this gesture is very taboo. However, this tendency to adhere to social rules also gives insight into why such a gesture might exist, to allow someone to express a negative opinion without forcing them to explicitly say it. The fact that this gesture can be used jokingly in other cultures but not in Switzerland is interesting, given that the Swiss are known as very serious people.

Collector’s Name: Sophie Byrne

Tags/Keywords:

  • Gesture
  • Switzerland

Car Wave

General Information about Item:

  • Genre: Gesture
  • Place Collected: Dartmouth College, Hanover NH
  • Date Collected: November 9, 2019
  • Country of Origin: Bermuda
  • Informant: Rebecca Byrne

Informant Data: 

Rebecca Byrne is my mother, a 53 year old female born and raised in Alberta, Canada. She has traveled extensively and spent time living in England, Japan, Bermuda, Switzerland and the United States. She lived in Bermuda for ten years and visits occasionally to see friends. Rebecca currently lives in Montreal, Canada.

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context: Rebecca learned this gesture from a neighbor shortly after moving to Bermuda. She was notified that it is common on the island to lift a finger to acknowledge friends or acquaintances when passing them on the road. The gesture is used as a greeting, and is similar in meaning to waving but does not require the lifting of a hand off the steering wheel. It is a very popular gesture, to the extent that it would be seen as rude to pass someone you know while driving and does not perform the gesture. Rebecca has been informed by Australian friends that the gesture is also common in rural areas in Australia.
  • Cultural Context: Bermuda is a small island with a population of 65,000. The island is a British Colony and geographically proximal to the United States, so the culture contains both British and American customs. Due to Bermuda’s small area, it is common for locals to run into people they know on the roads. Bermudians think of themselves as extremely friendly and pride themselves on creating a strong community on the island.

Item: The gesture is performed while driving by raising one’s forefinger off the steering wheel and rotating the wrist to move the finger back and forth. It is accompanied by eye contact with the person one is trying to acknowledge, and optionally, a sounding of the car horn or a verbal greeting yelled out the window

Associated file (a video):

 

Informant’s Comments: Rebecca noted that Bermuda has a local celebrity, Johnny Barnes, who, from 1986 to 2015, stood every morning on one of the busiest roundabouts to wave and blow kisses at traffic. She believes the phenomenon of waving at other drivers in this way may be linked to Bermudian’s appreciation of Johnny Barnes and tendency to wave to him.

Collector’s Comments: The fact that this gesture is common in both rural and island cultures makes practical sense in that someone who lives in a small community has increased likelihood of regularly encountering people they know while driving and needing a way to acknowledge these people. Since both Australia and Bermuda are influenced by British culture, it is possible that this gesture was originally common in the United Kingdom. While the reminder of friendliness that Johnny Barnes brings may make this gesture more popular, it likely stemmed from the need for a greeting that can be safely performed while driving within a close community.

Collector’s Name: Sophie Byrne

Tags/Keywords:

  • Hand Gesture
  • Bermuda
  • Greeting