Droopy Socks and Dangling Shoes

Awhile back, I read an interesting book on body language. You know, how people consciously and unconsciously communicate non-verbally. And I don't mean flipping someone the bird. Although maybe if done with the left hand it would be a compliment, or an invitation (The Mouth May Lie).

One of the more amusing bits was about the unconsious signals men and women give when they are attracted to one another. For men, one of the best give aways is when he pulls up his socks. For women, it's when she crosses her legs and dangles her shoe on her toe.

Really. I had to test this theory out.

I told a male friend of mine about this. He admitted that he felt compelled to pull up his socks when he was in the presence of a woman he found attractive. 

Seriously.

He pondered whether he was truly making a pass at her, or whether his socks just really had to be pulled up. Socks will do that to a guy. But then again so will an attractive woman. And apparently the two are a deadly combination.

I also read the other day about a report in the journal Dermatologic Surgery that Botox might be a new treatment for depression.

Stay with me. These are connected.

Ten women, who had been diagnosed with a major depressive episode, received Botox shots in their foreheads. Some had been taking antidepressant without any relief, and none had ever received Botox treatments.

After two months, nine of the ten were no longer depressed.

Now, before you get too excited I do have one small confession to make. The article about this report appeared in Allure Magazine, which if you are a beauty product junkie and a lipstick whore like I am, you know is the only beauty magazine worth buying.

So, that being the source, coupled with the fact that the report involved a statistically minuscule number of participants might go a ways toward curbing your enthusiasm. Unless you are, of course, like me.

Imagine...No lines and no depression.

Wow.

Contemplate that for a moment while I try to remember where I was going with all of this

Oh, yes. Right.

The thinking behind this small, for lack of a better word, "study" is that because the women could not move their facial muscles normally, their expressions were different than ususal.

Maybe they just looked less depressed, or more relaxed. And maybe because they looked less depressed, people interacted with them differently.

Therefore, not only is a book judged by its cover, but changing the cover can change the book as well.

Hmmm.

This echoes suspiciously of the "put on a happy face" attitude of those chronically optimistic people who believe that if you do in fact have a good attitude, then, well, you will in fact be happier.

This does not sit well with those chronically pessimistic people such as myself. And especially not with a pessimist who also doesn't like to be told what to do by anyone, but especially anyone who is chronically happy.

Still, if taking a shot in the forehead would erase my worry wrinkle and cause people to interact with me as if I were chronically optimistic...now that just appeals to my pragmatic nature and desire to multi-task as many things as possible.

Which leads me back to the beginning...and the droopy socks and the dangling shoe.

What if a man pulled up his socks on purpose when he was around someone he wasn't attracted to?

Not repulsed by (what would be the point in that?), but someone for whom he had neutral feelings. If he did that enough times (spaced enough apart so that said sock pulling did not become viewed as some bizarre nervous tic), would he begin to feel something toward her? And what if women in a similar situation were to dangle her shoe, and swing her crossed leg seductively?

And so there, my friends, would be your assignment for this week, should you choose to take it, and should you have someone to set your sock-pulling/shoe-dangling sights on.

Let me know how that works out.