The Definitive Book of Body Language - Barbara Pease [41]
The Three Most Common Cross-Cultural Gestures
Let's examine the cultural interpretations and implications of three common hand gestures: the Ring, the Thumb-Up, and the V-sign.
1. The Ring
This gesture was popularized in the U.S.A. during the early nineteenth century by the newspapers that were starting a craze of using initials to shorten common phrases. There are many different views about what the initials OK originally stood for, some believing it stood for “all correct,” which was regularly misspelled as “oll korrect,” while others say that it means the opposite of “knockout,” that is, KO.
“OK” to a Westerner, “money” to a Japanese, “zero” to the French, and insulting to the Turks and Brazilians
Another popular theory is that it is an abbreviation of “Old Kinderhook,” from the birthplace of a nineteenth-century American president who used the initials as a campaign slogan. It's obvious that the ring itself represents the letter O in the OK signal. The OK meaning is common to all English-speaking countries and its meaning is fast spreading everywhere due to American television and movies, but it has other origins and meanings in certain places. For example, in France and Belgium it also means “zero” or “nothing.” In a Paris restaurant one evening, the waiter showed us to our table and asked, “Is the table okay?” We flashed him the OK signal and he responded, “Well, if you don't like it here we'll find you another table … ” He had interpreted the OK signal as meaning “zero” or “worthless”—in other words, he thought we had communicated that we didn't like the table.
Use the OK gesture to tell a French person their cooking
is wonderful, and they'll probably throw you out.
In Japan it can mean “money;” if you're doing business in Japan and you make this sign for OK a Japanese may think you're asking them for a bribe. In some Mediterranean countries it's an orifice signal, often used to imply that a man is homosexual. Show a Greek man the OK signal and he may think you're implying you or he is gay, while a Turk might think you're calling him an “arsehole.” It's rare in Arab countries, where it is used as either a threat signal or as an obscenity.
In the 1950's, before he became president, Richard Nixon visited Latin America on a goodwill tour to try to patch up strained relations with the locals. As he stepped out of his plane he showed the waiting crowds the American OK signal and was stunned as they began booing and hissing at him. Being unaware of local body-language customs, Nixon's OK signal had been read as “You're all a bunch of arseholes.”
If you travel internationally, the safest rule is to always ask the locals to show you their insult signals to avoid any possible embarrassing circumstances.
2. The Thumb-Up
In places that have strong British influence, such as Australia, the U.S.A., South Africa, Singapore, and New Zealand, the Thumb-Up gesture has three meanings: it's commonly used by hitchhikers who are thumbing a lift; it is an OK signal; and when the thumb is jerked sharply upward it becomes an insult, meaning “up yours” or “sit on this.” In some countries, such as Greece, the thumb is thrust forward and its main meaning is “get stuffed!”
Never hitchhike in Greece.
As we have already demonstrated, when Europeans count from one to five, they use the Thumb-Up to mean “one,” the index finger becomes “two,” whereas most English-speaking people count “one” on the index finger and “two” on the middle finger. In this case, the Thumb-Up will represent the number “five.”
This can mean “good,” “one,” “up yours” or “sit on this” depending where you live
Being the most powerful digit on the hand, it is used as a sign of power and can be seen protruding from pockets, waistcoats, and on lapels. The thumb is also used in