Famous cigar smoking public figures include Winston Churchill, King Edward
VII, and Sigmund Freud, all highly successful and dominant men. When Freud
was challenged about the phallic shape of his cigar, he is purported to have
replied, ‘Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.’Pipe smokers
Pipe smoking is associated with Oxford dons and elderly uncles and con-
notes stability, intelligence, and wisdom. Pipe smoking involves many rituals
that require the smoker’s attention. By concentrating on the acts associated
with smoking a pipe such as cleaning, filling, and tamping the pipe, the
smoker can focus on the pipe and not the people around her. Like many
objects, the pipe has functions other than just what it was specifically
designed for.Pipe smokers often chew on their unlit pipes. The act of putting something
their mouths harks back to infancy and the reassurance they felt when suck-
ling on a breast or a bottle.Because pipe smokers hold their pipes in front of themselves, and often cross
their other arm across their bodies, the pipe serves as a mini shield, protect-
ing the smoker from anyone else.In addition, a pipe can be used as a pointer to direct someone’s attention and
a baton to beat out the rhythm of the speaker’s words.Marco, a university professor, is a pipe smoker. He has a collection of pipes
from which he chooses, depending on his mood and how he wants to be per-
ceived. He frequently carries an unlit pipe into his lectures, where he uses
the pipe as an extension of himself. When gesturing towards a student or an
item on a slide, he points with his pipe. When confronted with a question that
requires some thought, he tamps the tobacco in the bowl of his pipe. He
lights the pipe, takes several puffs, and blows the smoke upwards before
looking at the person who posed the question. Marco uses his pipe as an
extension of himself for indicating where he wants his audience’s attention to
focus, as well as using the pipe as a screen behind which he can hide.Making It Up as You Go Along.....................................................................
One of the benefits of being a woman is that she can enhance her image by
applying make-up. Whether going out on a Saturday night or coming into
work Monday morning, the woman who has taken the time to apply her
make-up appropriately is going to get noticed.Chapter 11: Playing with Props 187