General Information about Item

• Gesture
• Genre: Insulting American Children’s Gesture
• Country of Origin: United States
• Informant: Alejandro Cuan-Martinez
• Date Collected: October 28, 2018

Informant Data

Alejandro is a ’20 that attends Dartmouth College. He is from Los Angelas, California where he grew up for most of his childhood. He is of Chinese-Mexican decent and has an older brother. In high school he was on the swim team. He is interested in studio arts and is a member of the Alpha Theta gender-inclusive greek house.

Contextual Data

Social Context – I collected this folklore from Alejandro in Alpha Theta’s library. I recorded our conversation on an iPhone and asked him to tell me about insulting gestures he may remember from childhood. It was humorous the wide array of gestures he recalled from childhood that he would use to insult his friends in primary school. Many of the gestures were subtle variations of the middle finger, used in a manner to get away with giving someone the bird without actually doing the gesture but fully implying it with a similar one. Most of the gestures he showed me were ones targeted towards a specific person with the intention of being seen and received, with the ability to be quickly concealed if an adult was to look. 

Cultural Context – Alejandro learned this gesture in elementary school when learning sign language. During this time, his older friends taught him how to say “F— you” in sign language.

Item

“You start at the base of your throat and the tips of your fingers move up across your throat up to your chin, and once you reach your chin, you flip your hand out and over kind of like you’re holding a tray.”

Associated File

F*ck you in sign language-1pknotd

Informant’s Comments

Alejandro noted that it was funny how as children, they found a way to insult each other, even during class. 

Collector’s Comments

I remember learning this myself when I was also in middle school and also using it during on of my classes to communicate with my friends if someone was bothering me. Although it was meant as an insult, we also used it as a way to express if someone made us feel uncomfortable or upset.

Collector’s Name: Cherie-Noelle Kaanana

Tags/Keywords

• Gestures
• American Children
• Insults

General Information about Item

• Gesture
• Genre: Insulting American Children’s Gesture
• Country of Origin: United States
• Informant: Alejandro Cuan-Martinez
• Date Collected: October 28, 2018

Informant Data

Alejandro is a ’20 that attends Dartmouth College. He is from Los Angelas, California where he grew up for most of his childhood. He is of Chinese-Mexican decent and has an older brother. In high school he was on the swim team. He is interested in studio arts and is a member of the Alpha Theta gender-inclusive greek house.

Contextual Data

Social Context – I collected this folklore from Alejandro in Alpha Theta’s library. I recorded our conversation on an iPhone and asked him to tell me about insulting gestures he may remember from childhood. It was humorous the wide array of gestures he recalled from childhood that he would use to insult his friends in primary school. Many of the gestures were subtle variations of the middle finger, used in a manner to get away with giving someone the bird without actually doing the gesture but fully implying it with a similar one. Most of the gestures he showed me were ones targeted towards a specific person with the intention of being seen and received, with the ability to be quickly concealed if an adult was to look. 

Cultural Context – Alejandro learned flipping off with his thumb in between his middle and ring finger from a Filipino friend in early middle school. He learned it one day while waiting for his mom to pick him up and waiting with his friend.

Item

“Basically you put your thumb in between your ring finger and middle finger. And you make a fist and you have your thumb sticking up in between your ring finger and middle finger. And again, that’s like flipping someone off.”

Associated Image

Informant’s Comments

Alejandro noted that because it was so subtle, people barely noticed when he would do it and so he stopped using it because it wasn’t as effective. 

Collector’s Comments

This is probably a gesture best used for subtle rebellion for children, and not so much for insulting someone and making sure they see it. It appears to be someone one would do to feel as though they got away with doing something bad.

Collector’s Name: Cherie-Noelle Kaanana

Tags/Keywords

• Gestures
• American Children
• Insults

General Information about Item

• Gesture
• Genre: Insulting American Children’s Gesture
• Country of Origin: United States
• Informant: Alejandro Cuan-Martinez
• Date Collected: October 28, 2018

Informant Data

Alejandro is a ’20 that attends Dartmouth College. He is from Los Angelas, California where he grew up for most of his childhood. He is of Chinese-Mexican decent and has an older brother. In high school he was on the swim team. He is interested in studio arts and is a member of the Alpha Theta gender-inclusive greek house.

Contextual Data

Social Context – I collected this folklore from Alejandro in Alpha Theta’s library. I recorded our conversation on an iPhone and asked him to tell me about insulting gestures he may remember from childhood. It was humorous the wide array of gestures he recalled from childhood that he would use to insult his friends in primary school. Many of the gestures were subtle variations of the middle finger, used in a manner to get away with giving someone the bird without actually doing the gesture but fully implying it with a similar one. Most of the gestures he showed me were ones targeted towards a specific person with the intention of being seen and received, with the ability to be quickly concealed if an adult was to look. 

Cultural Context – Alejandro learned flipping off with his ring finger in middle school. The actual middle finger was for when you’re older so in middle school, the ring finger was the next closest thing.

Item

“It’s the same thing as a pinky – you make your hand into a fist and then raise your ring finger. People think it looks like you’re flipping someone off and using your middle finger, but really it’s your ring finger.”

Associated Image

Informant’s Comments

Alejandro found it particularly funny when mentioning that the middle finger is for when you’re older. When I inquired why, he mentioned that it felt more like you were fully committing to insulting someone and it was like swearing for the first time when you did actually flip someone off. 

Collector’s Comments

I remember my own friend getting mad one day and accidentally flipping the bird and when he was confronted about it, he immediately denied it and said he was raising his ring finger, not his middle finger. For some reason, changing that one thing made it less rude and a bit more acceptable, as he got off with only a slap on the wrist.

Collector’s Name: Cherie-Noelle Kaanana

Tags/Keywords

• Gestures
• American Children
• Insults

General Information about Item

• Gesture
• Genre: Insulting American Children’s Gesture
• Country of Origin: United States
• Informant: Alejandro Cuan-Martinez
• Date Collected: October 28, 2018

Informant Data

Alejandro is a ’20 that attends Dartmouth College. He is from Los Angelas, California where he grew up for most of his childhood. He is of Chinese-Mexican decent and has an older brother. In high school he was on the swim team. He is interested in studio arts and is a member of the Alpha Theta gender-inclusive greek house.

Contextual Data

Social Context – I collected this folklore from Alejandro in Alpha Theta’s library. I recorded our conversation on an iPhone and asked him to tell me about insulting gestures he may remember from childhood. It was humorous the wide array of gestures he recalled from childhood that he would use to insult his friends in primary school. Many of the gestures were subtle variations of the middle finger, used in a manner to get away with giving someone the bird without actually doing the gesture but fully implying it with a similar one. Most of the gestures he showed me were ones targeted towards a specific person with the intention of being seen and received, with the ability to be quickly concealed if an adult was to look. 

Cultural Context – Alejandro learned flipping someone off with his pinky in middle school. He said he learned it before learning to flip someone off with his ring finger. He caught on from his friends when they would do it to each other.

Item

“Basically, I was told that in other cultures that if you make your hand into a fist and raise your pinky, that’s another way of flipping someone off and insulting them.”

Associated Image

Informant’s Comments

Alejandro mentioned that it was like the first tier of flipping someone off and was a gradual increase of how far you would go to give someone the bird.

Collector’s Comments

This reminds me of when children would try to “be fancy” when I was little, as they would raise their pinky. It’s quite interesting how in one context, it can be a civil thing to do to try to express elegance, whereas in another it can be inappropriate and provocative.

Collector’s Name: Cherie-Noelle Kaanana

Tags/Keywords

• Gestures
• American Children
• Insults

General Information about Item

• Gesture
• Genre: Insulting American Children’s Gesture
• Country of Origin: United States
• Informant: Alejandro Cuan-Martinez
• Date Collected: October 28, 2018

Informant Data

Alejandro is a ’20 that attends Dartmouth College. He is from Los Angelas, California where he grew up for most of his childhood. He is of Chinese-Mexican decent and has an older brother. In high school he was on the swim team. He is interested in studio arts and is a member of the Alpha Theta gender-inclusive greek house.

Contextual Data

Social Context – I collected this folklore from Alejandro in Alpha Theta’s library. I recorded our conversation on an iPhone and asked him to tell me about insulting gestures he may remember from childhood. It was humorous the wide array of gestures he recalled from childhood that he would use to insult his friends in primary school. Many of the gestures were subtle variations of the middle finger, used in a manner to get away with giving someone the bird without actually doing the gesture but fully implying it with a similar one. Most of the gestures he showed me were ones targeted towards a specific person with the intention of being seen and received, with the ability to be quickly concealed if an adult was to look. 

Cultural Context – Alejandro learned it when fighting with other little kids when he was younger. He then went home that day and did it to mom, who got very mad.

Item

“Usually little kids do it but basically if you’re playing around or are mad at someone, you stick out your tongue.”

Associated File

Sticking Out Tongue-244r96x

Informant’s Comments

Alejandro noted that he got in a lot of trouble from his mom when he did it to her.

Collector’s Comments

When I was younger, I remember either my mom or sisters telling me that if I did that, the Devil would come in the middle of the night and chop off my tongue.

Collector’s Name: Cherie-Noelle Kaanana

Tags/Keywords

• Gestures
• American Children
• Insults