When a gesture changes meaning as it crosses a border

Headlines

• Moutza (Greek open-palm gesture) Open hand thrust towards the face, fingers spread: supreme insult in Greece and Cyprus, gesturally re-enacting the Byzantine humiliation of smearing the faces of condemned criminals with soot. Peaceful stop gesture in the West — a dangerous 180-degree bivalence.

  Kinesics — gestures
  Complete Taboo
• The so-called Roman / fascist salute Arm extended, palm down — gesture neither Roman nor ancient, invented by David 1784, adopted by D'Annunzio 1919 then Mussolini 1925. Criminally banned in Germany, Austria, Belgium and several countries. Distinct from the specific Nazi salute (e0060).

  Kinesics — gestures
  Complete Taboo
• The bras d'honneur (umbrella gesture / Italian salute) Right arm bent, left hand slapping the bicep — a major insult equivalent to the middle finger, ubiquitous in Latin Europe and Latin America.

  Kinesics — gestures
  Complete Taboo
• Quenelle (Dieudonné gesture) Arm stretched down at an angle, hand palm-down - gesture popularized by Dieudonné, codified as an anti-Semitic insult in France since ~2013.

  Kinesics — gestures
  Complete Taboo
• OK hijacked (white power symbol) ⚠️ CRITICAL: Standard OK gesture (thumb-index circle) hijacked since 2017 by white supremacist extremists as covert hate symbol. Context determines if OK = innocent approval or hidden hate signal. Public photography extremely risky.

  Kinesics — gestures
  Complete Taboo
• The Sacred Cow (Hinduism) Eating beef in Hindu India: a religious prohibition, sometimes also a legal one (several states).

  Table & food
  Complete Taboo
• The swastika (Hindu/Buddhist vs Nazi auspice) An auspicious Hindu/Buddhist symbol for 5000 years. Nazi hijacked it 1920-1945. The West can now only see it in trauma.

  Symbols, numbers, colors, animals
  Complete Taboo
• Taking your shoes off at the mosque Entering a mosque wearing shoes: ritual pollution and a serious offense in the eyes of the Muslim community.

  Clothing, feet, shoes
  Complete Taboo
• Photographier une femme sans son consentement (Golfe) Photographier une personne (a fortiori une femme en abaya) sans consentement aux UAE = infraction pénale, jusqu'à 500 000 dhs d'amende.

  Proximity (distance)
  Complete Taboo
• Le baiser public dans les pays du Golfe Le baiser sur la bouche dans un lieu public aux UAE = infraction pénale (art. 411), amende jusqu'à 100 000 AED + déportation pour les expatriés.

  Proximity (distance)
  Complete Taboo
• The Thai Three-Finger Salute (Hunger Games) Borrowed from Hunger Games, three raised fingers can lead to arrest in Bangkok under military rule.

  Kinesics — gestures
  Complete Offense
• The fig sign (thumb between fingers) Good-luck charm in Mediterranean cultures, a grave sexual insult equivalent to the middle finger in Russia, Turkey, and the Balkans.

  Kinesics — gestures
  Complete Offense

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