Thread by @alpharivelino

More and more, I think the claw is a really bad sign. A woman can fake her affection by leaning her head in for a photo, she can “play the part” — but the claw reveals her dominant tendencies

The claw might be the most honest signal of the aggressive female

Beware of the claw!

https://twitter.com/africanmonk11/status/1692901561666589174

Here’s the photo we’re talking about

The reason that the claw is such an honest signal is that a woman doesn’t know not to do it

She doesn’t realize that she is revealing her desire to control her man

She — and almost everyone else — just sees the claw as a sign of closeness and mutual affection

The Claw

ASK RIVELINO

"Do you believe the claw indicates dominance or is only an attempt at dominance?"

Excellent nuance. The claw *is* physical dominance at a small scale, in the moment. It also reveals a desire for greater dominance –– or betrays greater dominance behind the scenes

ASK RIVELINO

"Where should the woman's hand go instead?"

Her hands should be lower, around his waist. There is no reason why her hands should be so high up

I didn't invent the concept of the claw, I learned it from Roissy. He wrote a blog post years ago analyzing the body langauge of this Bush vs Putin photo

Roissy pointed out how Bush had the "claw maneuver" on Putin

Here is the Roissy blog post, it's from 2008

Spot The Alpha
Aug 21st, 2008 by Roissy

In this pic, try to identify who is more alpha:

90% of alphaness is telegraphed through body language, eye contact, facial expression, nonverbal vocalization, and voice tonality. The actual words you say mean very little. For instance, if you laugh at your own jokes you are probably beta. Here we see two wary foes — both of them silverback apex alphas — testing boundaries and trying to establish ultimate dominance. Putin has pulled the “hand over hand” handshake alpha maneuver with a subtle condescending pat to the top of Bush’s hand like a grandmother might give to a precocious child, while Bush has opted for the arm-across-back shoulder clasping “claw” maneuver (something a taller man is well-equipped to do).

This photo is really a great showcase of what happens when two genuine alpha males lock horns and battle for supremacy. The interplay is subtle, but it’s there, make no mistake. At the highest levels, alphas don’t ball up their hands into fists and throw punches, they sublimate the cruder forms of chest thumping into the refined art of civilized court intrigue.

Their faces also tell a story. Bush is stifling an open-mouthed smirk, but his eyes betray unease. He looks like he’s forcing his will upon Putin with his slight lean-in. Putin’s half-lidded eyes and barely downturned mouth hint of haughtiness. Deep in his Commie bones he feels like the superior man to Bush, and this past week in Georgia he demonstrated it when he shoved that air of superiority into Bush’s face by proxy. Also, I notice Putin is standing straight, avoiding the lean-in, and keeping his torso turned less toward Bush and more toward the audience. In contrast, Bush’s body angle defers to Putin.

Whether either of these men’s confidence is warranted is irrelevant. Their strutting for the cameras is what matters.

ALPHA: Putin, by a red whisker. Bush’s “claw” is the most dominant singular gesture in this photo, but the sum total of alpha gestures favors Putin.

ASK RIVELINO

"Is there a link to Roissy's blog posts?"

This site is working now, sometimes it goes down and then comes back up

heartiste.org/2008/08/21/spo…

A more severe example of the claw –– the moving claw

ASK RIVELINO

"What determines the claw? Is it the placement on the shoulder?"

Exactly. The claw is when a woman puts her hand on her man's shoulder/neck area. She should be putting her hand lower down, around his waist or on his stomach

I will look for some good example

Here's a near-perfect example of how a man should pose for a photo with his woman

For now let's focus on this claw issue

1-His left hand is up high on her shoulder
2-She is not clawing him

By putting his hand up high on her shoulder, it's almost impossible for her to claw him

HER HANDS ARE LOW

We can't see her right hand, but we don't see it up around his neck/shoulder area, so it's probably lower down, around his waist or by her side. Either is good

Her left hand is also low, touching his stomach, which I like (it's tender and intimate)

ASK RIVELINO

"What to do in the moment if a chick claws you?"

Correct her behavior playfully, like this:

"Oh baby, not there," slightly move away (so her hand falls), kiss her forehead to soften the interaction, then come back again and put *your* arm around her shoulder

PUT YOUR HAND ON HER SHOULDER

For most couples, if the man puts his around her shoulder, it's harder for her to claw him

When your hand is on her shoulder, it feels more natural for her to put her arm around your waist –– which is where it should be

ASK RIVELINO

"Isn't the claw more a sign of being possessive rather than dominance?"

Dominance, possession, power, control, ownership –– if you know women at all, you know that the more power you give a woman, the more power she wants. It's a dangerous & slippery slope

ASK RIVELINO

"The key is not avoiding the claw. Better to see it and know her true intentions. Then dump"

All women need some form of training and lessons in respecting boundaries. The myth of the shy submissive woman who always surrenders and never challenges –– that's a myth