Fist bump
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The fist bump (also known as a fist pound[1]) is a type of gesture similar in meaning to a handshake, high five or nose rub. A bump also can be known as a symbol of giving of respect. Fist bumps can also be followed by various other hand and body gestures, and may be part of a dap greeting. It is commonly used in baseball as a form of celebration with team-mates and also with opposition players at the end of a game.
The gesture is performed when two participants each form a closed fist with one of their hands and then lightly tap the front of their fists together. The participants' fists may be either vertically-oriented (perpendicular to the ground) or horizontally-oriented. Unlike the standard handshake, which is typically performed only with each participants' right hand, a fist bump may be comfortably performed using the left hand of one participant and the right hand of another, which is convenient if one's right hand is holding an item or otherwise preoccupied. When a fist bump is initiated, it is considered rude to intentionally use too much strength when bumping one's fist against another's (to punch the other's fist) in an attempt to cause pain, similar to squeezing one's hand too hard during a standard handshake.
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[edit] History
Time magazine wonders if it evolved from the handshake and the high-five. They cite knuckle bumping in the 1970s with NBA player Baltimore Bullets guard Fred Carter. Others claim the Wonder Twins, minor characters in the 1970s Hanna-Barbera superhero cartoon Super Friends, who touched knuckles and cried "Wonder Twin powers, activate!" were the originators.[1] However, the "fist bump" or "pound" can easily be traced as far back as the late 1960s and early 1970s to urban black youth.[2]
| “ | "The Dap includes simple to very intricate series of rhythmic hand slaps, clasps, hand and arm gestures exchanged between two persons as a sign of personal greeting, respect and group solidarity. Has origin in greetings developed and practiced by members of Black Power organizations founded in southern California in the early 1970s and then became common place and outlawed practice among African-American draftees and soldiers stateside and abroad during the latter years of the Vietnam War."[2] | ” |
Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls may have helped popularize the fist bump in the early 1990s. Jordan started a ritual in which he would go to the announcer table before every game and cover his hands with the talcum powder (he would even clap his hands thus releasing a powdery mist on the announcers, something LeBron James would later emulate). Since his hands were now prepared to grip the ball properly he didn't want to shake hands with anyone to have that powder removed. Jordan extended his hand in a "Fist Bump" fashion to all the opponents on the court prior to the opening of the game, starting a new trend.[citation needed]
On June 3, 2008, Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama fist-bumped during a televised presidential campaign speech in St. Paul, Minnesota. Fox News host E.D. Hill, in a "tease" for an unrelated story, paraphrased an anonymous internet comment characterizing the gesture[3] as a "terrorist fist jab", and the gesture became known as "The Fist Bump heard 'Round the World".[4] A reporter on one local Fox affiliate also mistakenly called the gesture fisting.[5]
In light of the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, the dean of medicine, Tomas Feasby, at the University of Calgary suggested that the fist bump may be a "nice replacement of the handshake" in an effort to prevent transmission of the virus.[6]
[edit] Other instances
- Howie Mandel, host of Deal or No Deal in the US and Canada, uses the fist bump as an alternative to shaking hands. He avoids shaking hands because of the potential to spread germs.[1]
- The fist bump was featured in the 2007 Bud Light Super Bowl commercial.[7]
- The March 7, 2008 Penny-Arcade web-comic strip features fist bumping in reference to the video game Army of Two.[8]
- Myron Lowery, acting as mayor of Memphis, Tennessee, fist bumped the Dalai Lama during his visit to Memphis.[9]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Stephey, M.J. (June 5, 2008). "A Brief History of the Fist Bump". Time magazine. http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1812102,00.html. Retrieved 2008-06-08.
- ^ a b "In Historic Moment, White People Exposed To 'Fist Bump" for First Time". Alternet. June 6, 2008. http://www.alternet.org/election08/87230/. Retrieved 2008-09-02.
- ^ Beam, Christopher (July 14, 2008). "The "Terrorist Fist Jab" and Me". [[Slate (magazine)|]]. http://www.slate.com/id/2195347/. Retrieved January 23, 2010.
- ^ "Fox News anchor calls the Obamas' fist pound 'a terrorist fist jab'". Think Progress. http://thinkprogress.org/2008/06/09/fox-news-anchor-calls-the-obamas-fist-pound-a-terrorist-fist-jab/. Retrieved 2008-06-10.
- ^ The Obamas like to do WHAT?! from YouTube
- ^ Fist bump can pound out flu transmission
- ^ Fist Bump from YouTube
- ^ Our Crucial Pamphlet
- ^ "Dalai Lama starts US tour with fist-bump". ABC News (Australia). 23 September 2009. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/09/23/2693852.htm. Retrieved 21 January 2010.
[edit] Further reading
- Safire, William (July 6, 2008). "Fist Bump". The New York Times Magazine. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/06/magazine/06wwln-safire-t.html. Retrieved 2008-07-15.
[edit] External links
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