What Every BODY Is Saying : An Ex-FBI Agent's Guide to Speed Reading People

KNOWLEDGE WITHIN REACH 123

workplace and are bullied nonverbally by males who insist on talking to
them with arms akimbo in a show of territorial dominance (see figure 41).
Aping this behavior—or using it first—can serve to level the playing field for
women who may be reluctant to be assertive in other ways. Arms akimbo is
a good way of saying that there are “issues,” “things are not good,” or “I am
standing my ground” in a territorial display (Morris, 1985, 195).
There is a variant to the traditional arms akimbo (which is usually
performed with hands on hips with thumbs facing toward the back)
in which the hands are placed on the hips, but the thumbs face forward

Women tend to use arms akimbo less

than men. Note the position of the

thumbs in this photograph.

In this photo the arms are akimbo, but

note that the thumbs are forward. This

is a more inquisitive, less authoritarian

position than in the previous photo,

where the thumbs are back in the

“there are issues” position.

Fig. 41 Fig. 42