Gender and the body language of power

[...] raising one’s voice in an argument, and even laughing loudly are considered distinctly unfeminine.

In his Fatherhood routine, Bill Cosby had a funny, and accurate, bit about women being the boss of the house. I know my wife is going to issue some mandate when stands arms akimbo and raises her voice. Apparently, I did not marry, or ever date, a women that was feminine.

Women do not have to be like men in order to assert authority. The surest way to undercut the appearance of authority is to act like something you're not.

Another interesting thing is how people sit when sitting in a single gender group. For instance, two girls sitting on the grass having lunch will likely be sitting right next to each other, and it is obvious they are together. Two guys will likely sit with a noticeable gap between them and will be more haphazardly arranged, and you might wonder if they are together or that just happens to be the best spot to sit. Or consider the movies. Pairs of guys attending a movie together seem much more likely to leave an open seat between them than do pairs of women attending together.

I wonder if this has something to do with it being considered OK for women to touch, but un-masculine for men to touch, so male groups sit so they won't have to deal with the horror of accidentally touching another man.

http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_shapes...