Waving your index finger in Puerto Rico

June 4, 2015 10:14 AM

At the end of this Puerto Rican drag queen's lip sync/dance performance, you can see many people in the audience waving their index finger in the air as they cheer. It's obvious that they're very approving of the performance, but is there something more specific that this gesture means? I've seen it used once or twice before, but never by so many people—is it specific to Puerto Rican culture or is it common elsewhere as well? And is it something specific to gay culture or is it widely used?
posted by mr. manager to Society & Culture (4 answers total)

I've seen it in a number of gay contexts (the "drag ball" made famous in Paris Is Burning is an exemplar), and even on America's Next Top Model when the competitors walked in a Heatherette fashion show and the (club kid-heavy) audience reacted the same way.
posted by psoas at 10:17 AM on June 4, 2015 [1 favorite]

I see it at US college sports events. It seems to indicate "we're number 1" or "they're number 1" or vaguely that the crowd is happy.
posted by JimN2TAW at 12:03 PM on June 4, 2015

It's not "we're number 1", at all. Drag shows don't really have that specific kind of sports sensibility. I see it often in drag culture related to a sentiment more like "preach it!", or signifying the truthfulness or honesty of a situation or person.
posted by donnagirl at 1:08 PM on June 4, 2015 [7 favorites]

Yes, you'll see this at almost any (bigger) drag show in the U.S., racial/national origin of the audience be damned. Often in conjunction with shouting, "YAAASSSSSS!"

If you watch the crowning episode of this season's RuPaul's Drag Race (which just aired Monday, on which Kandy Ho was a contestant), you'll see people in that audience doing it, too. Outside of a performance, it tends to translate to "I am visibly agreeing with a joke or insult that you just made because it was very good."
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 2:31 PM on June 4, 2015 [1 favorite]