My brother Al’s two little daughters, Cathy and Cristina, are fantastic pouters.
When they’re angry, sad, disappointed, or just pretending to be, they can
stick their lower lips out half way down their chins. Sometimes, Al drums his
fingertips over their lower lip, telling them that a little man is going to dance
on their lips if they’re not careful. That’s usually enough to make them laugh
and end the pouting.The pursed and pouting lips of a young woman looking at her lover signal
sexual invitation. Both the pursed lips of disapproval and the pursed lips
indicating sexual arousal are forward moving. What makes the difference is
the context they’re displayed in.Frank took a group of friends for lunch, tennis, and swimming at his club. He
was particularly attracted to one of his guests, and was hoping to strike up a
romantic relationship. When Frank looked at Dagmar, he pursed his lips for-
ward, and ever so slightly separated them as if blowing gently in the wind.
Later that day, Frank saw Dagmar speaking animatedly with someone else.
Disappointed that Dagmar was paying attention to another person, Frank
pursed his lips together like an old prune and turned away.Both men and women’s facial lips increase in size and colour when sexually
excited.For further information about the pout, skip to Chapter 13.Figure 6-1:
The pout
covers a
wide
emotional
range.
Chapter 6: Lip Reading 95