150 I Can Read You Like a Book E
between these postures come out of anatomical differences, which
also tend to make women more flexible in the conventional sense
used by trainers and therapists.
Men typically have broader, more developed shoulders, and a
narrower pelvis with legs closely set. This creates an image that is
triangular and has harsher angles than a woman’s body. The angles
translate to straighter movement and a squarer gait. Men walk and
move in a straight line very efficiently. This squared off movement
will often give away even the well-practiced transgender females
and drag queens who don’t have a woman’s broad-set hips and their
natural predisposition toward lateral, fluid movement. Movement of
men’s arms looks as though it originates from above, but when a
woman moves her arms, it’s not as if it is dangling as much as it is
sweeping from below. Add to this the fact that muscles attach at
different points on the frame and you get a naturally more rounded
look in women than men. Sure, this can be disguised, hidden, or
changed with clothing, weight, surgery, exercise, or training, but
no matter how you slice it, all these elements do is decorate the
frame, not alter it.
As a reminder, this discussion is not about men and women
having equal competence in certain sports and other physical chal-
lenges. These distinctions are only important in discussing posture
as it relates to body language.
With gender being a shifting concept in our culture, I should make
one quick note here. Anger will move you closer to the behavior of
the gender with which you identify. Women will instinctively express
their femininity, rounding the shoulders and shifting the center of gravity.
Very effeminate men will become more demonstratively feminine.
