2. To appear bigger for fighting or courting rituals, birds will fluff their feathers, fish can expand
their body size by sucking in water, and cats or dogs make their fur stand on the end. The
hairless human, however, no longer has thick pelt to expand to make himself look more
imposing when he is fearful or angry. When we describe a scary movie we often say, “it made
my hair stand on end”; if we become angry with someone, “He made the hackles on my neck
rise”; and when we are smitten with someone, they can give us “goose bumps”. All these are the
body’s mechanical reactions to circumstances in which we attempt to make ourselves appear
larger in social situations. Modern humans have generated a gesture to help achieve a bigger
physical presence, this is called the hands on hips. It is most commonly use when a child is
arguing with its parent, the athlete waiting for his event to begin, and males who want to issue a
nonverbal challenge to other males who enter their territory. In each instance, this is a universal
gesture used to communicate that a person is ready for assertive action. It takes up more space
and has the threat value of the pointed elbows that acts as weapons, preventing others from
approaching or passing. Thus, it carries the even stronger message of anger or outrage. Besides
that, it can also be called the “achiever” stance, related to goal-directed person who is ready to
tackle their objectives or is ready to take action on something.
