Show Summary Details
Overview
open posture
Quick Reference
A typically unconscious bodily posture in which the body tends towards openness—particularly with arms or legs uncrossed. Depending on context, in social interaction open postures can signify agreement, an openness to interaction, and/or the relaxation of a person in an established position of power or status. When men's sitting posture exhibits a substantial angle between the upper legs this is sometimes interpreted by feminist theorists as a power display, symbolically occupying a large expanse of territory. Compare closed posture.
