Driving in rural areas,,everybody waves

[Joan58]

As I go about my daily life,My appearance from a distance could be taken as male or female. Always shaved,hair in a pony tail,earrings.Often a womens cut
T shirt.

When driving getting a wave from other drivers is very common,around here most men wave with a raised hand,and a small sweeping motion.

So,, my question is when returning a wave,How do women do it? If the passing driver is unsure if I am man or women,could the way I wave back cause them to think more one way or the other?

[Barbara Black]

A very interesting question. One that I can't answer. Do women prefer one hand over the other? LOL

[abby054]

I grew up in central Iowa, but I left, never to return, at age 16. I recall men waving at each other while driving by lifting an index finger from the steering wheel as they met on the road. It mattered not if the men knew each other. Men in that rural society did not wave at unknown women while driving. Women did not wave at anyone except at close friends and relatives. When women waved, they waved with an enthusiastic waving of the whole hand (if not the driver, both hands) for several seconds before and after meeting on the road. Your question seems to tell me that the role of women in that culture has changed in the past few decades if they are now waving at strangers.

[Angie G]

Driving down the road 25ish years ago in a rural area a man doing yard work waved my X-soninlow (city boy) asked do you know him I say no then ho asked why did he wave. I thold him that's what people do out here. As to your question arm up wave hand side to side or hand up wiggle fingers :hugs:
Angie

[kimdl93]

The finger wave....remember it well.

[Jean 103]

When I'm driving a company truck, guy more I wave, it's just a sign of being neighborly. In my car ,girl mode, just a simple smile, it's what women do.

[Tina_gm]

Observe men and women. There are usually the subtle differences with these mannerisms. FWIW, men tend to simply raise their hand up, usually fingers spread apart, may or may not wave the hand slowly side to side, but only once or twice if they do it at all. Women tend to wave more with their fingers, up and down, or if they do a side wave it tends to be with their fingers closer together and it is a faster motion, doing so several times. Think of a couple of guys riding Harley's passing each other and how they acknowledge each other, now think of two women, colleagues perhaps. Now for fun, reverse the images of how the guys and girls wave at each other lol.

[Tracii G]

Wave however you want to Joan.
Is this something to really worry about?
Think about it what difference does it make?
You can wave or not wave.

[Pat]

You say it's a common act where you live -- so wave at a few women and see how they wave back. ;)


The finger wave....remember it well.

That term has a whole 'nuther meaning in the Boston area.... :lol2:

[kimdl93]

Jennie, I guess people in Minnesota are just atypically friendly :)

[Tracii G]

Or the one finger California howdy.

[LeannS]

It is quite common out here in the west (US) to wave.
Atv riders wave at each other, I have noticed the motorcyle riders on the freeway or a 2 lane will wave or hold their hand out.
The more you get into the city the more people tend to themselves.
Country or mountain driving people wave all the time you can tell almost where people live by if they wave or not
Like yesterday wife and I went fishing (62degrees) coming back out people in trucks waved as they went by people in cars where sitting on their fingers

my 2 cents

Leann

[Ceera]

In my urban/suburban neighborhood in Oregon, in an LGBTQ-accepting college town in the lower Willamette river valley area, here is what have observed.

People are generally friendly and will wave and smile at anyone they pass - fellow drivers or pedestrians - friends or strangers alike. It's kind of a courteous 'Hi! I see you ." action on their part, and the other person usually waves and smiles in return.

A similar friendly waving gesture is common when acknowledging that someone made room for you to get into their lane in traffic, when you're merging from an on-ramp or changing lanes.

A male driver will often just raise a hand, fingers together or spread, with minimal waving of the hand. Fingers remain in the same relative position to the hand if they do wave the hand.

Female drivers are more likely to hold a hand up, fingers spread, and either wave the whole hand, or do a 'finger wave' where they keep the thumb extended and lower the four fingers toward the palm and back up again a few times in a row.

I see this a lot, both when driving and when walking my dog, and especially in in my neighborhood. And depending on my own presentation, I do either the male or female wave back, as matches how I am presenting. Just like doing a more feminine walk (shorter stride length, feet more in line with each other while walking), I feel it adds to the realism of my presentation.

My neighbors react in the same friendly manner to seeing me in either male or female modes, though I think many of them believe I am two separate people who live at my home and drive my car. I look 15 to 20 years younger in female mode, so they may think that Ceera is my male side's daughter - especially since my actual adult daughter, who lives with me, doesn't get out of the house much on her own. (I have to wonder what they think when Ceera and my daughter go out for a day of shopping or a restaurant meal together...)