Look at your nails...

[AdamMLP]

Apparently -- according to some sort of "folklore" stuff we were talking about down the pub tonight -- if you ask someone to look at their nails a women will always look at them with the backs of their hands facing them, while men will always have their palm facing them with their fingers curled in.

One bloke reckoned that someone got spotted as being a woman in drag, apparently trying to escape getting convicted with murder or something, because someone asked her to look at her nails, she did with the back of her hands facing her and "Aha! You're actually a women, and you're the murderer."

It sounds a bit fantastical, and it probably is because that guy is well known for talking bs quite a lot, but it's a myth that I found interesting, and might be worth remembering if anyone ever tries that trick on you.  I look at my nails the "male" way naturally and was wondering how you guys did too as well.

[Joe.]

This went round in my primary school when I was back in year 5 or something. I looked at mine the 'male way' too and got bullied for 'being a boy'. Not sure how true it is, but I have heard this too.

Joey

[Kevin Peña]

Bull spit. I have no preference. If my hand is flat on a desk, then I won't turn and curl it simply to look at my nails. It's like pouring in cereal or milk first: whichever I grab first. 

[EmmaS]

I agree with Diana, I've done it both ways.

[DriftingCrow]

I only do it the "female" way. Maybe it's because I am used to having my nails wicked long so I instinctively avoid curling my fingers toward my palms.

[Liminal Stranger]

I don't move my hand. I glance down at my nails. Where does that leave me? 
But if I were to pick up my hand, I do it palm up and my fingers curl automatically, so I guess I do it the male way when forced. It's an old thing kids would do in middle school. They use it as a "gay test" in my school (especially since there's a pretty large percentage of kids there who aren't quite ruler-straight).

[aleon515]

I heard this when *I* was 10, which was a LONG time ago. Anyway funny thing, I started doing it the male way so much so that I saw the title I looked at them the male way. What's maybe a bit more significant was that I decided I needed to do it the male way. I don't think there is actually anything at all to this though.

--Jay

[geek]

Haha I remember this too! And having an earring on the "gay" side

[AwishForXX]

This "test" has been around for a very long time, kids were doing this when I was in elementary school.  I doubt it's validity, I've been known to look at my hands both ways.

However there are theory's that may have some validity.  I am a pedorthist and I study people's gait mechanics all day every day for the last 20 years.  I have noticed that there are some significant differences in the way that men and women walk, however just like gender is on a spectrum, so is the gait mechanics I have observed.  to put it in as simple a way as I can, Typically, men have a wider gait, if you could draw an imaginary line line along the path that they are walking you will notice that the typical male 's heels strike the ground about 4-6 inches from the center line.  where the typical female gait pattern is such that she will place her heels between one and 3 inches from the center line.  The difference is subtle but noticeable.  There are many other differences I have noted but in my studies I have also learned that there are a very large number of TGs who naturally walk with the gait of their true gender seemingly without coaching.  interesting to note that women will also hold their elbows closet to the body than men do.  This is in part to the fact that the elbow of women is attached at a different angle than men's elbows.  (when in anatomical neutral, palms forward, a woman's arm bends outward on a 20 to 30 degree angle.)  Again keep in mind that there are no black and white here, everything is on a spectrum.

Next time you go out for a walk, try paying attention to your own natural gait.  I'll bet most everybody here without putting any effort into it will be walking closer to the gait of their gender.  When I was in the military I was forever hitting the inside of my ankles with the heel of the opposite boot.  Marching on parade was particularly difficult for me as my ankles would be bruised horribly the next day.  I could never figure out why after a parade, my elbows hurt either.  Only now do I realize that standing at attention, my elbows were hinged wrong for what was expected of us. 

http://www.biomotionlab.ca/Demos/BMLwalker.html  is a small app that can demonstrate some of the differences.

C.

[aleon515]

Yeah I thought there may be something behind this too--how men and women move is different. But valid, nah. I always felt I walked like a duck.

--Jay

[anya921]

I was forever hitting the inside of my ankles with the heel of the opposite boot. 

My school uniform was total white and I always had dirt marks on the inside of my trouser where it touches the shoe. Took many years to realize the marks were there because I was placing my feet on a straight line when I walk. LoL.

and it's true with my elbows too. My friends used to joke about my elbows saying that I have girly arms. But I am not sure about the nail thing. I always look at my nails turning the back of my hand. But I know lot of guys do it the same way and some gals who do it other way.

The reason for lot of guys and some girls is I have many guy friends than gals lol.

[PixieBoy]

In my school, they said that girls did it palms-up and boys did it palms-down, and all the boys said it was total rubbish since looking at your nails palms-dpwn was really girly. Nobody put much stock into that since we saw that most people did it both ways.

Did anyone do the "gay test" where you have to rub an eraser on your skin and if you can do it for a long time you're not gay? Or the thing where you, using your fingers, shoot a coin at someone else's knuckles? Ah, the memories of being 13 and stupid...

[AdamMLP]

I just want to add in that obviously I know it's nothing serious, just something I found amusing that's all. Not sure if some people are thinking I'm crazy and genuinely believe it or not.

[CursedFireDean]

I've done the 'male' way for as long as I can remember.   

[Liminal Stranger]

I just want to add in that obviously I know it's nothing serious, just something I found amusing that's all. Not sure if some people are thinking I'm crazy and genuinely believe it or not.

Of course not man! It's all in good fun.

Yeah I thought there may be something behind this too--how men and women move is different. But valid, nah. I always felt I walked like a duck.

--Jay

LOL Jay. Amidst my neurological problems, my dad said I looked like a duck when I was walking (and ran with my head down like a chicken. I had issues XD), so he "taught" me how to walk. When I feel more comfortable I walk in a more "manly" way, and my bf walks almost exactly like a woman :3

[Natkat]

I tried it once but insteed of hearing "male or female" it just said straight, or gay"
honestly I dont think theres any "big psycological" thing into it and its just gendernorms.
like said, many would think it to seam more girly to look at your fingers like that, but I also thought of another thing.
nail polish, if you having this most people tend to streight out there fingers to look at the result. and in general I feel if I dont care of my nails I look at them the typical way with the front facing me, but if im doing something" with my nails, to make them look "pretty, or just a certain way, like if im to dress up as something and using nail polish for my look, then I look at them the other way. also I notice other guys doing that, when they dont care about there nails they just look at them but if they had done something with them like manicure*(not sure how this is spelled) then they tend to look the other way.

I would say nailpolish, manicure, and general all this about taking care of your nails is seams abit femenine, so obviously its the "girly" one, which guys dont want to do as many guys are scaared of being seen as girly or femenine.

So no big surprize for me.

[aleon515]

LOL Jay. Amidst my neurological problems, my dad said I looked like a duck when I was walking (and ran with my head down like a chicken. I had issues XD), so he "taught" me how to walk. When I feel more comfortable I walk in a more "manly" way, and my bf walks almost exactly like a woman :3

Yeah LS, I have Asperger's, which is no doubt why I walk like a duck, coordination problems are quite common. I probably run like a chicken. My parents never worked with me on these things as you didn't do that back then. I have kind of been working with myself on such things lately, as I heard guys walk with a wider stance. Actually I think it helps me walk in a more regular way. A packer helps too, but I don't always pack.


--Jay

[Liminal Stranger]

Yeah LS, I have Asperger's, which is no doubt why I walk like a duck, coordination problems are quite common. I probably run like a chicken. My parents never worked with me on these things as you didn't do that back then. I have kind of been working with myself on such things lately, as I heard guys walk with a wider stance. Actually I think it helps me walk in a more regular way. A packer helps too, but I don't always pack.


--Jay

I don't know if I have Asperger's or not, kind of in a middle ground on it I guess. We think some birth trauma involving me going from healthy newborn to dead newborn not five minutes after being born with a knotted umbilical cord may have caused a lot of my neurological issues and worsened anything that was there. What I do know is that my mother is trying to pawn it off on my dad that the whole thing is something I've decided because I think everyone is cut from one cloth and boys are this and girls are that and that I have this autistic tendency not to back down from any decision that I've made. She's warping everything to fit her ridiculous theory that sounds to me like she's been reading a certain blog, telling my dad her twisted side of it and saying I have to be locked up and he's agreeing with her and going along with everything. He actually believes all this. I hate both of them.

[Nero]

Haha I just did it the socalled 'male' way when I saw the thread title. Never heard of this before. Thought it was going to be something about nail changes on T. 

[Alice-blossom]

I never thought of it as girly to look at your nails with your palm down until someone gave me a hard time about it a year ago 
I found that I did it both ways, but more often with my palm down than not.