# Bizarre Signals You Didn't Know You Were Giving **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 10, 2004, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-signals-you-didnt-know-you-were-giving/244482 "2004-05-10T17:27:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tiny\_ham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@tiny\_ham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiny_ham)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-signals-you-didnt-know-you-were-giving/244482/1 "2004-05-10T17:27:25Z")
We all have to be careful these days, and I think this is what’s leading us down the path of everyone wearing the same silver jumpsuit in the futuristic movies. We must be wary of the signals that we are giving off to people who are so consumed with bizarre symbols that they cannot be bothered to get to know people as humans, but rather approach them when a hanky or a belt or an earring indicates that the stranger is a kindred spirit. Inspired by **GingeroftheNorth** who was informed that by the simple act of wearing a certain bracelet she was indicating some sex practice, I wanted to make sure we all had a complete list of what we can and cannot wear or display in our daily lives lest we be confused for Carp Diddlers or something. Of course, the classic is the “which ear are you wearing your earring in” quandry, and the classic SDMB Column of 'what does a red handkerchief in your backpocket mean", but what are the others? I was told only a few weeks ago that if you hang mardi gras beads from your rearview mirror it is a ‘universal symbol’ :rolleyes: that you are into BDSM. I said it then, I"ll say it now…somebody better shoot of a memo to my sixty eight year old aunt who just thought the colors were pretty. So what have you heard? ---
**Author:** ![jk1245](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/49beb7/32.png) [@jk1245](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jk1245)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-signals-you-didnt-know-you-were-giving/244482/2 "2004-05-10T17:43:31Z")
I think we’ve all heard about the “tattoo on the small of a woman’s back” and what _that_ means. My wife recently mentioned that she’d like to get a tattoo on her back. Needless to say, I was quite supportive. Sadly, she was not aware of the meaning. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-signals-you-didnt-know-you-were-giving/244482/3 "2004-05-10T17:48:56Z")
When I was in high school (a long time ago), it supposedly meant you were gay if you wore green and yellow on a Thursday. My grandma liked the rainbow flag stickers and wanted to get one until I told her it meant something. ---
**Author:** ![mamakat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e56c9b/32.png) [@mamakat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mamakat)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-signals-you-didnt-know-you-were-giving/244482/4 "2004-05-10T17:51:05Z")
What does it mean? I’ve never heard that one! ---
**Author:** ![screech-owl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@screech-owl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/screech-owl)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-signals-you-didnt-know-you-were-giving/244482/5 "2004-05-10T17:55:37Z")
> [@jarbabyj](#): > > …I was told only a few weeks ago that if you hang mardi gras beads from your rearview mirror it is a ‘universal symbol’ :rolleyes: that you are into BDSM. I said it then, I"ll say it now…somebody better shoot of a memo to my sixty eight year old aunt who just thought the colors were pretty… Okay, I don’t hang mine from the rearview mirror. Mine are looped around the frontseat passenger headrest. What does this mean, other than the passengers are always flipping them around to the back of the seat to avoid getting poked in the back? ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-signals-you-didnt-know-you-were-giving/244482/6 "2004-05-10T17:57:15Z")
Okay, what _does_ a tattoo on the small of a woman’s back mean? ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-signals-you-didnt-know-you-were-giving/244482/7 "2004-05-10T18:00:38Z")
“I was told only a few weeks ago that if you hang mardi gras beads from your rearview mirror it is a ‘universal symbol’ that you are into BDSM. I said it then, I"ll say it now…somebody better shoot of a memo to my sixty eight year old aunt who just thought the colors were pretty.” Perhaps that just what she _wants_ you to believe. 😉 **Mature Mistress Needs Slaves Now!** Mistress X, She-Bitch of the Mid-West, is now seeking submissive pussy-boy who will lick her boots clean. I’ve got the ball-gags, you bring the balls. Look for the Mardi Gras beads, 1998 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-signals-you-didnt-know-you-were-giving/244482/8 "2004-05-10T18:01:15Z")
> [@mamakat](#): > > What does it mean? I’ve never heard that one! At the risk of being “whooshed”, the rainbow flag is a gay symbol. ---
**Author:** ![screech-owl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@screech-owl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/screech-owl)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-signals-you-didnt-know-you-were-giving/244482/9 "2004-05-10T18:05:41Z")
> [@jk1245](#): > > I think we’ve all heard about the “tattoo on the small of a woman’s back” and what _that_ means. My wife recently mentioned that she’d like to get a tattoo on her back. Needless to say, I was quite supportive. Sadly, she was not aware of the meaning. No, we **all** haven’t heard about specific meanings, or may have heard different meanings from what you may have heard. Please include your specific meaning so I might compare it to whatever possible meanings\* my\* brain is contemplating. (Like when they bleep out words on tv, and you find out what they bleeped was far less offensive than what you thought they bleeped - e.g., “Naughty Bits” from Monty Python.) So what DOES that mean? (And if someone else has jumped in in the meantime, feh, my computer is running really really slow today.) ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-signals-you-didnt-know-you-were-giving/244482/10 "2004-05-10T18:07:38Z")
I’m also heard that wearing a ring on your thumb means you’re a lesbian. Of course, the argument I heard supporting this claim, at the time, was that Gina Gershon was wearing a ring on her thumb in _Bound_. But then the debate was “yeah, but it’s because they were making her fit the stereotype!..” and so on. I apparently give off a signal that says: “Eats\_Crayons likes deranged, crazy people. So you must go up and talk to her on the street!” (Really I’m a freak-magnet.) ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-signals-you-didnt-know-you-were-giving/244482/11 "2004-05-10T18:13:51Z")
Once when I was bitching about the low-pants-with-boxers-showing thing, I was told that it has a specific meaning. Of course, now I’ve forgotten what it was. Does it really have a meaning and if so, what? ---
**Author:** ![Sauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Sauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sauron)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-signals-you-didnt-know-you-were-giving/244482/12 "2004-05-10T18:22:50Z")
> [@Dung Beetle](#): > > Once when I was bitching about the low-pants-with-boxers-showing thing, I was told that it has a specific meaning. Of course, now I’ve forgotten what it was. Does it really have a meaning and if so, what? It means you’re too poor to afford a belt. ---
**Author:** ![liirogue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dbc845/32.png) [@liirogue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/liirogue)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-signals-you-didnt-know-you-were-giving/244482/13 "2004-05-10T18:45:07Z")
What _is_ up with those bracelets anyway? I vaguely recall seeing them and someone snickering about “those girls have no idea what they _really_ mean.” ---
**Author:** ![jk1245](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/49beb7/32.png) [@jk1245](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jk1245)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-signals-you-didnt-know-you-were-giving/244482/14 "2004-05-10T19:29:18Z")
Oops, sorry. I assumed that most Dopers had heard this one, as it’s been discussed on here before, IIRC. Allegedly, a tatoo on the small of a woman’s back means she likes anal sex. You know, it’s there for the guy to look at and all. Don’t know where this one came from (I suspect high school boys are a likely source), or if there’s even a remote shred of truth behind it at one point or another. I do know it’s probably a surprise to most women who have said tattoo. ---
**Author:** ![the\_Lady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bb73d2/32.png) [@the\_Lady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_Lady)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-signals-you-didnt-know-you-were-giving/244482/15 "2004-05-10T19:39:56Z")
Yep - colour me surprised… ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-signals-you-didnt-know-you-were-giving/244482/16 "2004-05-10T20:17:16Z")
> [@jarbabyj](#): > > I wanted to make sure we all had a complete list of what we can and cannot wear or display in our daily lives lest we be confused for Carp Diddlers or something. I’m a carp diddler myself, and I wasn’t aware there was a uniform. Maybe that explains why people keep coming up and asking me about licking hippos. No! I don’t lick hippos! I diddle carp! Get it straight! Jeez. I suspect this thread will be extremely useful. \ ---
**Author:** ![elfbabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b782af/32.png) [@elfbabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfbabe)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-signals-you-didnt-know-you-were-giving/244482/17 "2004-05-10T20:18:55Z")
I don’t know if this counts, but back in elementary school, kids would ask you a question to which the answer was yes. They’d then ask, “Are you positive?” If you said yes, then you were HIV POSITIVE HUR HUR HUR HUR HUR. Anyone else remember this? People exposed to it around the same time I was would be about 18-21 now… ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-signals-you-didnt-know-you-were-giving/244482/18 "2004-05-10T20:22:48Z")
> [@liirogue](#): > > What _is_ up with those bracelets anyway? I vaguely recall seeing them and someone snickering about “those girls have no idea what they _really_ mean.” In **delphica** ’s words: “Yes, I know what they mean – they mean I can’t let go of the 80s!” They’re JUST BRACELETS, people. I happened to go buy some to wear to the 80s party at Chidope, at **Gundy** ’s place. The girl at the store asked me if I knew what they meant. Or, there’s this whole urban legend bull at [http://www.sex-bracelets.com/](http://www.sex-bracelets.com/). According to that page, the bracelets I bought ‘mean’: sexual intercourse flashing kissing giving blowjobs or lap dances hugging or analingus anal sex, holding hands, or doggy style cunnilingus or outdoor sex. Riiiight. Again… JUST BRACELETS. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-signals-you-didnt-know-you-were-giving/244482/19 "2004-05-10T20:26:53Z")
> [@elfbabe](#): > > I don’t know if this counts, but back in elementary school, kids would ask you a question to which the answer was yes. They’d then ask, “Are you positive?” If you said yes, then you were HIV POSITIVE HUR HUR HUR HUR HUR. Anyone else remember this? People exposed to it around the same time I was would be about 18-21 now… Well, I’m 25 and I remember this one. I think it usually went like this: Them: Do you know what AIDS is? Me: Yes. Them: Are you sure? Me: Yes. Them: Are you positive? Me: Yes. Them: You’re HIV positive! Ha ha ha! The humor of children tends to have a timelessness to it, doesn’t it? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![elfbabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b782af/32.png) [@elfbabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfbabe)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-signals-you-didnt-know-you-were-giving/244482/20 "2004-05-10T20:30:23Z")
> [@Lord Ashtar](#): > > Well, I’m 25 and I remember this one. Yes! Yes! Someone else _knows_! Too bad for them I was a well-read little bugger and started replying to “Are you positive?” with “I am certain.” Always confused the hell out of them. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-signals-you-didnt-know-you-were-giving/244482.md?page=2)