The Ultimate Body Language Book

superiority and royalty has made them famous, but they have also been adopted by lawyers trying to
seem noble and important. One way thumb displays happen is by placing all but the thumbs in the front
pockets of a vest or suite jacket, or by knuckling the vest and leaving the thumbs out. Thumbs-up can
also turn a timid interlaced fingers gesture into a positive thoughts gesture by flaring the thumbs up
during conversation. Thumbs-out is a representation of ego, dominance, confidence, comfort,
assertiveness and sometimes even aggressiveness. The thumbs out gesture is usually found in clusters
with other dominant body language. For example, to denote superiority, the legs would also be spread
apart, the chest puffed out to appear larger and the head held back, all the while glaring down the nose
at any onlookers. The thumbs up gesture, wherever it happens, is a form of “gravity defying’ body
language. This means that it is related to positive emotions since it requires energy to do and people
that are depressed aren’t interested in burning energy especially wastefully.
We rarely see those with low status carry this posture, but if we do, we certainly will know something
“important” about them! Sometimes our boss will be caught walking around his office holding this
posture signifying his dominance, or at least his attempt at dominance. Men seeking the affection and
attention of women will also sometimes carry thumbing postures, but they might downplay their
dominant attitude by holding their hands in their back pockets so as to hide them. Another variation
altogether includes flaunting the thumbs by placing them under the arm whilst folded. This last posture
is a closed, yet dominant cue cluster. The crossed arms tell others that they are closed off from
communication while the exposed thumbs reveal superiority.
The polar opposite to the thumb display is hidden thumbs which may happen by placing just the
thumbs in front pockets with the remaining fingers outside. This posture says “I’m unsure of myself”
and denotes extreme low confidence and low status. Hidden thumbs can be found when people are
timid, insecure, or feel social discomfort and is a childhood throwback to when children stand in front
of their parents looking disappointed and saddened.
Chapter 8 – Dominant and Submissive Gestures
Displays Of Ownership And Territory To
Indicate Dominance
“Fences make great neighbours” seems like a great truism for our day and we see just as many fences
going up as we do houses. Humans are very social, but it is also obvious that we are deeply territorial.
While in public, a wife might display ownership of her husband by hooking her arm around his, or he
might throw an arm around her just the same. We show that an automobile that we are proud of is ours
by leaning up against it or placing a foot on its bumper or ownership of a desk by tossing our feet up on
top of it. We display ownership of our houses and personal affair by adding personal touches and might
even block the entry to our homes by solicitors through clogging the doorway with our bodies.
Territorial lines are drawn everywhere in our lives from the particularities of our offices and
automobiles, right down to the rooms in our own homes, and whom has access to them. We even have
boundaries around our bodies which we protect rigorously. The more dominant the individual, the more
apt they are to have and hold rigid boundaries about their personal space and possessions. For example,
walking into your boss’s office and sitting in his chair won’t come with a welcome reception. But
amongst friends, this type of chair stealing happens frequently and can even become a game, due
largely to the fact that you and your friends are of equal status. It wouldn’t be uncommon for the boss’s
children to play this game with their dad, so in some context, stealing territory is perfectly tolerable