Category Archives: 18 F Gestures

Insulting Gestures: Japan: Gesture 5 (Pointing One’s Fingers)

Pointing One’s Fingers (Young Jang)

Title: Pointing One’s Fingers

General Information about Item:

  • Customary Lore: Hand Gesture
  • Language: Japanese
  • Country of Origin: Japan
  • Informant: Jong-ki Kim
  • Date Collected: 11-03-18

Informant Data:

  • Jong-ki was born and raised in Jeunju, South Korea. After graduating high school, he enlisted in the South Korean army to complete his mandatory service for two years. After his service completion, he studied abroad in Tokyo, Japan as a university student for four years. After graduation, he continued to live in Japan and work as an entrepreneur in commerce and trading between East Asian countries. He is fluent in both Japanese and Korean. As a business owner he splits his time operating and living in both Tokyo, Japan and Seoul, South Korea.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Japanese society often has strict set of social norms that people should not act too silly or offend one another publicly. However in a tense or heated situation, someone may act in a very explicitly rude way such as pointing one’s finger at another person. Pointing the finger is considered rude in Japanese culture because the person pointing is associated with explicitly calling out the other individual for their wrong behavior or actions. Repeatedly pointing while speaking to another person is considered a sign of extreme frustration or an expression of dissatisfaction. The action is associated with aggression and anger. While it may not seem so in other countries, pointing can be considered a very rude action and even an invitation for warranted aggression.
  • Social Context: This gesture was mentioned when the interviewee was asked about any insulting gestures that exist in Japanese culture. Jong-ki stated that in arguments, someone may begin to point at you while raising their voice. In situations like this, the confrontation could possibly escalate into more serious aggression or violence.

Item:

  • The gesture begins with the actor holding out one of his or her hands. The hand is clenched in a fist and only one index finger is extended out to another person.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

*Note: For personal privacy concerns, Jong-ki has asked for his face to be covered in the photo for this collection.

Transcript:

  • “When you’re talking, and you point at the other person, and you are repeatedly pointing at them, it means that you are not happy with the current situation. It’s a rather obvious gesture and is considered quite rude… It’s different from the indication of location, like ‘Do you see that sofa over there,’ but it is more of an aggressive and charged action. ” -Jong-ki

Informant’s Comments:

  • This gesture could be taken as quite rude, so it’s important for visitors in Japan to realize that pointing is very impolite!

Collector’s Comments:

  • While pointing could be considered as a rude gesture in many cultures, I found the level of seriousness of the pointing gesture in Japanese culture to be quite interesting. It seems that the cultural connotation behind the pointing gesture is charged with aggression and anger. I have heard stories of Japanese people being a bit startled by foreigners who visit the country and point at other people naturally without intending aggression. Because this has become a common issue due to the growing tourism industry in Japan, I think some Japanese are more understanding and are not too offended if a foreigner points at them.

Collector’s Name: Young Jang 

Tags/Keywords:

  • Insulting Gesture
  • Pointing One’s Finger
  • Japanese Insulting Gesture

Insulting Gestures: Japan: Gesture 4 (Shaking One’s Leg)

Shaking One’s Leg (Young Jang)

Title: Shaking One’s Leg

General Information about Item:

  • Customary Lore: Body Gesture
  • Language: Japanese
  • Country of Origin: Japan
  • Informant: Christina Bae
  • Date Collected: 10-18-18

Informant Data:

  • Christina Bae is a senior student at Dartmouth College. She was born in and raised in Japan. She went to the American School in Japan until ten years old. During this time she became fluent in both Korean and Japanese. When she was ten, Christina and her family moved to Atlanta, Georgia. Her family has resided there ever since. She currently is majoring in Japanese and Chinese Language and Literature. As a talented pianist, Christina enjoys performing as well as teaching piano to the local members of Hanover.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Japanese society often has strict set of social norms that people should not act too silly or offend one another publicly. However, insulting gestures can still be found in the culture, albeit in more subtle ways than some of the other cultures that have been analyzed by my group (e.g. Italian and French). Especially in work place environments, age and experience hierarchies are strictly in place; further, corporate ranking determine the level of language, body language, and respect one should show to another person at the job. As such, small gestures such as shaking one’s foot is viewed as a very deliberate action to possibly undermine another person’s authority or to subtly hint that they are bored of listening to them. Due to the clear expectations of behavior set by Japanese corporations, a lack of adherence to these behavioral rules (e.g. shaking one’s foot during a meeting) can be viewed as an insulting gesture.
  • Social Context: This gesture was mentioned when the interviewee was asked about any insulting gestures that exist in Japanese culture. Christina stated that while growing up she was told explicitly not to shake her legs because it is a rude or impolite thing to do. Especially in situations in which you need to show respect to another person (e.g. in the classroom to the professor or at the work to your boss), you should never shake your leg in front of your superior. The act may be subtle, but it is taken seriously as a rude or impolite gesture.

Item:

  • The gesture begins with the actor crossing his or her legs while sitting down. Then the actor shakes on of his or her feet.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Transcript:

  • “Japanese people find it very disturbing when someone is sitting down and shaking one of their legs. People view that as a disrespectful action. but in the States, I’ve heard no one ever comment on me shaking my legs. In one of my Japanese classes at Dartmouth, the Professor noticed me shaking my legs and said, ‘Oh I’ll end class early today because Bae-san (Christina) seems very bored about this lesson.’ She made a snarky comment about my feet and took it in a negative way. ”  -Christina Bae

Informant’s Comments:

  • It’s a very subtle gesture, but Japanese people do take notice if you shake your leg.

Collector’s Comments:

  • This gesture was particularly interesting to collect mainly because “shaking one’s leg” is not considered to be a rude or impolite gesture in the United States; however, in Japan, it seems that people become very concerned when a conversation partner begins to shake their legs. I think that the attention to subtle body language is very telling of Japanese culture in which people are expected to “read the situation in the room” and act accordingly. In other words, people naturally learn about social norms and the appropriate way to act in certain situations. Because body language is one of the first signs of change in a person’s attitude or even their thoughts, it seems that more subtle gestures have deeper meanings in Japanese cultures than in Western counterparts. For example, in the United States, just as Christina said, I have never heard anyone make a comment about my shaking my own legs.

Collector’s Name: Young Jang 

Tags/Keywords:

  • Insulting Gesture
  • Shaking One’s Leg
  • Japanese Insulting Gesture

Insulting Gestures: Japan: Gesture 3 (Akanbe)

Akanbe (Young Jang)

Title: Akanbe

General Information about Item:

  • Customary Lore: Facial and Hand Gesture
  • Language: Japanese
  • Country of Origin: Japan
  • Informant: Professor Mayumi Ishida
  • Date Collected: 10-16-18

Informant Data:

  • Professor Mayumi Ishida was born and raised in Tokyo, Japan.  She majored in English Literature during her undergraduate studies, and tutored Japanese students in English as a part time job. During her sophomore year of college, she studied abroad for one year in the United States at Tufts University. After returning to Japan, she continued her studies in English Literature and Language throughout undergraduate and the graduate level. While at graduate school, she chose to apply to a teaching fellowship program in which Japanese native speakers went abroad to the United States to teach Japanese. She was accepted as a teacher and began to teach Japanese in the United States. She has taught at academic institutions such as University of Wisconsin, Wellesley College, and Dartmouth College. When she is not teaching Dartmouth students Japanese, Professor Ishida can be often seen walking her dog named “Saki” around campus.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Japanese society often has strict set of social norms that people should not act too silly or offend one another publicly. As such, explicit insulting gestures are mainly found in the children demographic where acting silly or doing something very “rude” or “offensive” is less frowned upon and more accepted. Insulting gestures such as the “akanbe” which are directly communicating a rude or insulting meaning to another person is only acceptable in few situations: (1) a child is doing the gesture to another child (2) a child is secretly doing the gesture to an adult  (3) an adult is indirectly or secretly doing the gesture to another adult.
  • Social Context: This gesture was mentioned when the interviewee was asked about any insulting gestures that exist in Japanese culture. Professor Ishida stated that she remembers a childhood friend from elementary school doing this gesture to her as a joke. She mentioned that children would sometimes do the “akanbe” gesture behind their teacher’s back at the teacher to express some sort of dissatisfaction due to an unfair treatment. For example, if a teacher were to scold a elementary school child, the child may retaliate with the “akanbe” gesture while the teacher’s back is turned away.

Item:

  • The gesture begins with the actor pulling the skin underneath one of their eyes downward with one hand, which causes the red of the eye to be shown. The actor then sticks out his or her tongue.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

*Note: Professor Ishida did not wish to be photographed while doing the “Akanbe” gesture. The picture below is another interviewee Rina Yaita, who also mentioned the “Akanbe” gesture during her interview.

Transcript:

  • “ Children from ages of kindergarten to even 3rd grade can be seen doing something like ‘akanbe.’ However, whenever the kids become a bit older and more of a teenager, then they want to be more adult-like and would not do something that would seem very childish… It’s quite rare that children would do the ‘akanbe’ to people that they are taught to show respect to. For example, children are taught to respect their teachers at school, so if a child would do the ‘akanbe’ to a teacher directly, that would be a very rude thing. So maybe in that case they would try to hide it.” – Professor Ishida

Informant’s Comments:

  • While children do this kind of gesture to one another as a joke, in almost all cases Japanese adults or even young adults would not perform this gesture.

Collector’s Comments:

  • This is one of the very few explicit and direct insulting gestures that I was able to collect from Japanese culture. In the case of the “akanbe” it seems like its major influence is seen more in children’s cartoons or comics rather than in real life. While in real life, children are expected to behave properly and politely, the world of cartoons or comics depict children behaving in a rude or silly ways. As such, the children in fictional settings are more frequently seen doing the “akanbe” than children in real life.

Collector’s Name: Young Jang 

Tags/Keywords:

  • Insulting Gesture
  • Akanbe
  • Japanese children’s gesture
  • Japanese Insulting Gesture

Insulting Gestures: Japan: Gesture 2 (Oni Gesture)

Oni Gesture (Young Jang)

Title: Oni (the supernatural ogre) gesture

General Information about Item:

  • Customary Lore: Facial and Hand Gesture
  • Language: Japanese
  • Country of Origin: Japan
  • Informant: Ikuko Watanabe-Washburn
  • Date Collected: 11-08-18

Informant Data:

  • Professor Ikuko Watanabe-Washburn is a Professor of Japanese language at the ASCL department at Dartmouth College. She was born and raised in Japan for most of her life. She came to the United States and did not have any specific plans to become a Japanese language instructor; however, one of her close friends who was living in the United States recommended her a job opportunity to teach Japanese at an academic institution. Professor Watanabe began to teach Japanese to non-native speakers in the United States and eventually continued it as her profession. She has taught at several different academic institutions including Harvard University, Middlebury College, and Dartmouth College.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Japanese society often has strict set of social norms that people should not act too silly or offend one another publicly. As such, some insulting gestures are indirect and have a more roundabout meaning. In some cases, gestures are done to silently communicate a characteristic about someone behind their back. In this case with the “oni gesture,” the gesture is meant to communicate the fact that person A is angry to person B without letting person A find out.
  • Social Context: This gesture was mentioned when the interviewee was asked about any insulting gestures that exist in Japanese culture. Professor Watanabe had difficulty remembering any gestures that were meant to directly insult someone; however, she mentioned the “oni gesture” as something that people do to refer to someone who is currently angry or mad. For example, when the manager at a workplace is angry at the workers, the workers may do the “oni gesture” at one another to acknowledge the fact that the manager is angry. This is done behind the manager’s back, which makes the gesture indirect and more secretive. It is done more to communicate something behind another person’s back as opposed to directly doing the gesture to make someone angry or to express feelings of anger. The gesture is called the “oni” gesture because it resembles what a Japanese traditional ogre monster called, “oni” looks like.

Item:

  • The gesture begins with the actor holding both their hands in fist form. Then both the index fingers of the hands are extended outward to resemble horns. Finally, a scary face expression is made. The facial expression varies from person to person and is not necessarily a uniform expression.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Transcript:

  • “It’s quite difficult to think of an insulting gesture that Japanese do to one another directly; however, I think that the oni gesture is a relatively universal one that is recognized by most Japanese. It is done rather secretively behind someone’s back in order to tell others that someone is angry. For example, this can occur in a workplace environment where you have strict hierarchies in place between the worker and the manager. If the manger gets angry about something, a worker may do the “oni gesture” to express silently to the other workers that the manager is mad. The gesture is rather convenient because everyone can easily understand the gist of the situation and act accordingly, which is important because Japanese society demands that people read the situation correctly and act within certain expectations.” -Professor Watanabe

Informant’s Comments:

  • It’s important to note that this gesture would usually be done secretively behind someone’s back, never directly at them.

Collector’s Comments:

  • I found this gesture to be interesting because of the indirect aspect as well as well as the role of social hierarchy in play. Specifically, when I began to collect insulting gestures, I expected to find more direct insults or rude gestures that express feelings or anger or frustration; however, in Japanese culture, it seems that insulting gestures are more roundabout, indirect, or secret ways to express your inner feelings. In this case, the Oni gesture specifically exists to communicate that someone is angry without verbally saying it out loud. This is very interesting when comparing to insulting gestures that exist in Italian or French cultures which is more direct. In these cultures the gestures are created directly for another person to see and recognize the insult, while in Japan, insulting gestures tend to be more subtle or done in secret.

Collector’s Name: Young Jang 

Tags/Keywords:

  • Insulting Gesture
  • Oni
  • Indirect Gesture
  • Japanese Insulting Gesture

Insulting Gestures: Japan: Gesture 1 (Finger Across the Throat Gesture)

Finger Across the Throat Gesture (Young Jang)

Title: Finger Across the Throat Gesture

General Information about Item:

  • Customary Lore: Facial and Hand Gesture
  • Language: Japanese
  • Country of Origin: Japan
  • Informant: Rina Yaita
  • Date Collected: 11-06-18

Informant Data:

  • Rina Yaita is a sophomore student at Dartmouth College. Both her parents are Japanese. She was born in Chicago, United States. She moved to New York City when she was three years old, and went to pre-school in the States. Her family moved to Japan when she was six years old, and Rina attended a Japanese public elementary school in Japan until 5th grade. In the middle of her 5th grade year, Rina’s family moved to New Delhi, India due to her father’s job. She attended the American Embassy School until 11th grade in India. At the end of her 11th grade year, Rina and her family moved back to Japan, where she attended the American School. Her family resides in Japan.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Japanese society often has strict set of social norms that people should not act too silly or offend one another publicly. As such, insulting gesture are mainly found in the children demographic where acting silly or doing something very “rude” or “offensive” less frowned upon and more accepted. Moving the hand in a fist with only the thumb extended is a way children make fun or tease one another. It means “go to hell,” and carries a lighter tone than what it may seem like. While the meaning does mean “go to hell,” elementary school children sometimes do this gesture in order to joke around or tease each other.
  • Social Context: This gesture was mentioned when the interviewee was asked about any insulting gestures that exist in Japanese culture. Rina stated that when she was in elementary school, some of her friends would jokingly slide their finger across their throat as a means of communicating “go to hell.” The gesture was joking and childish in nature, and it does not really mean to show a serious or malicious intent. She said that she learned the gesture directly from friends at Japanese public elementary school.

Item:

  • The gesture begins with the actor holding out one of their hands in front of their throat. The hand is in a fist with the thumb sticking out to the side horizontally. Then the hand moves across the throat, which makes it seem as though the thumb is sliding across.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Transcript:

  • “You put your hand in this way and move it across like this… It means ‘go to hell.’ Some children did it when I was going to school in Japan…In Japan, you’re supposed to be polite all the time, right? You’re taught that from a young age, so I can’t imagine most adults doing this kind of gesture. ” -Rina

Informant’s Comments:

  • While children do this kind of gesture to one another as a joke, in almost all cases Japanese adults or even young adults would not perform this gesture.

Collector’s Comments:

  • I found this gesture to be interesting. While the finger sliding across the throat seems to be a gesture that is also recognized in the United States, the specific meaning does not seem to be the exact same. While in the United States the finger across the throat communicates the meaning of “watch out, I’m going to get you,” in Japan it has the direct meaning of “go to hell.” This folklore was an interesting one to compare how similar acts of gestures could potentially have different nuances in their meanings.

Collector’s Name: Young Jang 

Tags/Keywords:

  • Insulting Gesture
  • Finger Across the Throat
  • Japanese Insulting Gesture

Insulting Gestures – France: Gesture 10

Folklore Form/Genre: French gesture                                Informant: Cristoforo Coppola

Name: Raising your index finger below your eye and pulling slightly to say “you’re lying”

Place of Discovery: Hanover, NH

Informant Data: Cris was born and raised in Italy but attended a boarding school in Switzerland with students from all over Europe. Cris is a Government major senior at Dartmouth College.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural context: French gestures tend to be fairly expressive in nature.
  • Social context: French individuals will use this hand gesture to say they are done with a conversation.

Item: The item presented here is a picture of Cris demonstrating the French gesture. I talked to Cris about the gesture as well as snapped a photo of her executing it. All of the information provided in this write-up is an accurate depiction of the knowledge I obtained while speaking with Cris.

Transcript: Cris was at school with his buddies during a break between classes. Cris and one of his French friends were having some banter with each other, and Cris seemed to have gotten on his friend’s nerves. He threw his hands up like in the gesture above, told Cris he was done with him, and walked away.

Informant’s Comments: This gesture is meant to exclaim that the words coming out of someone’s mouth are egregious or appalling. It is meant to show that they are displeased with that the other person is saying and they don’t want the conversation to continue.

Collector’s Comments: It is an interesting gesture because there is no immediate similar one in the U.S. that comes to mind, except for perhaps a facial expression that indicated discontent. It is also interesting because I would have had no idea what the gesture meant if it hadn’t been explained to me. I most likely would have thought it was symbolizing someone with a beard.

Collector’s Name:

Carson Spahr

HB 4105 Dartmouth College

Hanover, NH 03755

Dartmouth College

Tags/Keywords:

  • Gestures
  • France
  • Insulting
  • Hand
  • Throat

Insulting Gestures – France: Gesture 9

Folklore Form/Genre: French gesture                                Informant: Emily Pommier

Name: Raising your index finger below your eye and pulling slightly to say “you’re lying”

Place of Discovery: Hanover, NH

Informant Data: Emily Pommier is a half-French Dartmouth College freshman. Her father’s side of the family is french, and her grandparents live in Lyon, France.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural context: French gestures tend to be fairly expressive in nature.
  • Social context: French individuals will use this hand gesture to call Bullshit on something someone is saying.

Item: The item presented here is a picture of Emily demonstrating the French gesture. I talked to Emily about the gesture as well as snapped a photo of her executing it. All of the information provided in this write-up is an accurate depiction of the knowledge I obtained while speaking with Emily.

Transcript: Emily was with her grandparents in Lyon. Her grandparents had begun to banter with each other about how neither of them do their fair share of work in the house. Emily’s grandmother had quipped that her grandfather never takes out the garbage, and the grandfather retorted that he had taken it out that day. The grandmother turned to him and gave the gesture displayed to indicate she didn’t believe him.

Informant’s Comments: This gesture is often accompanied with the phrase “Mon Oiel” (My eye), as if to say that their eyes are open, they are paying attention, and they can’t be fooled. This gesture is common in France and is known by almost all in the country.

Collector’s Comments: It is an interesting gesture because there is no immediate similar one in the U.S. that comes to mind. It is also interesting because I would have had no idea what the gesture meant if it hadn’t been explained to me.

Collector’s Name:

Carson Spahr

HB 4105 Dartmouth College

Hanover, NH 03755

Dartmouth College

Tags/Keywords:

  • Gestures
  • France
  • Insulting
  • Hand
  • Finger

Insulting Gestures – France: Gesture 8

Folklore Form/Genre: French gesture                                Informant: Emily Pommier

Name: Raising your hands to your sides, palms upward, perking the lips to mean “I don’t know”, “I don’t agree”, “That seems wrong to me”, etc.

Place of Discovery: Hanover, NH

Informant Data: Emily Pommier is a half-French Dartmouth College freshman. Her father’s side of the family is french, and her grandparents live in Lyon, France.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural context: French gestures tend to be fairly expressive in nature.
  • Social context: French individuals will use this hand gesture for multiple things; it is a staple gesture in France.

Item: The item presented here is a picture of Emily demonstrating the French gesture. I talked to Emily about the gesture as well as snapped a photo of her executing it. All of the information provided in this write-up is an accurate depiction of the knowledge I obtained while speaking with Emily.

Transcript: Emily was eating dinner with her grandparents with some neighbors. Naturally, like at any dinner gone wrong, political conversation arose. Emily’s grandparents’ neighbor contended that the influx of immigration to France was harming the state of the nation. Emily’s grandmother, who clearly disagreed but wanted to be somewhat polite, responded with this gesture, indicating that she wasn’t so sure about what the neighbor was saying.

Informant’s Comments: People in the U.S. may be able to understand what this gesture means without being told explicitly. The thing about this gesture is that it has multiple meanings, so interpreting it correctly depends on the context it is given in.

Collector’s Comments: It is an interesting gesture because it is has so many meanings that one needs context to interpret it correctly. Without context, it can mean a variety of different expressions. In the United States, a similar gesture may be putting an open hand up, which can either mean offering a high-five, waving, or wanting to ask a question.

Collector’s Name:

Carson Spahr

HB 4105 Dartmouth College

Hanover, NH 03755

Dartmouth College

Tags/Keywords:

  • Gestures
  • France
  • Insulting
  • Hand

Insulting Gestures: American Children — Gesture 5

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

Insulting Gestures: American Children — Gesture 4

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