Finger (gesture)
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In western culture, the finger (as in giving someone the finger), also known as the middle finger, is an obscene hand gesture, often meaning the phrase "fuck you" or "up yours". It is performed by extending the middle finger of the hand while bending the other fingers into the palm.
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[edit] Origin
It is identified as the digitus impudicus ("impudent finger") in Ancient Roman writings[1] and reference is made to using the finger in the ancient Greek comedy to insult another person. The widespread usage of the finger in many cultures is likely due to the geographical influence of the Roman Empire and Greco-Roman civilization.
Another possible origin of this gesture can be found in the first-century Mediterranean world, where extending the digitus impudicus was one of many methods used to divert the ever present threat of the evil eye.[2]
[edit] Examples
In 1968, the USS Pueblo was captured by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. In photos published by the DPRK, crew members frequently were depicted giving the finger. When their guards noticed this, the gesture was explained as a Hawaiian Good Luck Sign.[3]
On July 9, 2003, Philip Wong Yu-hong (Chinese:
On February 2, 2007, Mirek Topolánek, prime minister of Czech Republic, gave the finger to left-wing deputies in the Czech parliament [6] and later explained the gesture to the media and the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic as a friendly gesture towards Miroslav Kalousek, one of his cabinet ministers, meaning "You're the number one!" [7] Kalousek, in turn, gave the finger to Social-Democratic deputy David Rath on December 17, 2008.[8]
[edit] Other similar obscene gestures
Although "the finger" has been called "the universal sign of disrespect",[9] it is not universal. Many other gestures are used in various parts of the world to express the same sentiment.
In the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, the V sign (given with back of the hand towards the recipient) serves a similar purpose, although "the finger" is often used. The characters of the British sitcom Are You Being Served? often use the V sign when agitated with each other. This gesture is also used to a lesser extent in Canada.
In countries where Spanish, Portuguese, or French are spoken, and especially on the Iberian peninsula and in Latin America, a gesture involving raising a fist and slapping the bicep on the same arm as the fist used, sometimes called the Iberian slap or Iberian finger, is equivalent to the finger.
In Canada there are many equivalents to the finger, due to the large influx of other world cultures in the last twenty years, especially in Toronto and Vancouver. However, most Canadians still use either The Finger, The reverse V sign, or the Iberian slap.
In Italy, Poland, and countries under the influence of Russian culture (Russia, Belarus, Ukraine), the bent elbow insult is equivalent to The Finger.
In some African and Caribbean countries, a similarly obscene gesture is extending all five digits with the palm facing forward, meaning "you have five fathers" (thus calling someone a bastard).[10]
In Greece, the five fingers are spread wide and the palm is pushed towards someone in a gesture known as the Moutza. In India and Pakistan, social circles use the middle finger gesture in the same sense that it is used in western cultures. The same is true for most South Asian countries.[11]
[edit] References
- ^ Adams, Cecil. "What's the origin of 'the finger'?" Straight Dope, September 4, 1998
- ^ Malina, Bruce J., The New Testament World: Insights from Cultural Anthropology, 3rd Ed., (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2001)
- ^ http://www.usspueblo.org/v2f/captivity/goodluck.html The Digit Affair
- ^ Apple Daily, July 10, 2003
- ^ TVB noon news, July 10, 2003
- ^ Blesk.cz | Topolánek ukázal opozici zdvižený prostředník
- ^ http://www.lidovky.cz/ln_domov.asp?c=A070203_141940_ln_domov_fho
- ^ http://www.radio.cz/en/article/111478
- ^ E.g., Echard v. Kraft, 159 Md. App. 110, 115; 858 A.2d 1018, 1021 (2004).
- ^ "What's A-O.K. in the U.S.A. Is Lewd and Worthless Beyond". The New York Times. 1996-08-18. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0DEED61039F93BA2575BC0A960958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all. Retrieved 2008-04-11.
- ^ http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/3544/gestures.htm
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