V sign
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2008-07-14T18:04:32Z
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/* Current usage */ reword reference
[[Image:JSC Stardust 2006.jpg|thumb|200px|right|A scientist at the [[Johnson Space Center]] flashes victory signs after a successful extraction.]]
The '''V sign''' is a hand [[gesture]] in which the first and second fingers are raised and parted, whilst the remaining fingers are clenched. With palm inwards, in the United Kingdom and some other English speaking countries, it is an obscene insulting gesture of defiance. During the Second World War Winston Churchill popularised its use as a "Victory" sign (for ''V as in victory'') initially with palm inwards and later in the war palm outwards. With the palm outwards, it is also used to mean "Peace", a meaning that became popular in the United States during the peace movement of the 1960s.
==Current usage==
[[Image:Bunny ears.jpg|thumb|right|President [[George H. W. Bush]] doing the bunny ears gesture on [[Barbara Bush]]]]
*back of the hand facing the signer
**Two - nonverbal communication of quantity
**Victory – was first popularised by Winston Churchill, and sometimes is made using both hands, or upraised arms as Richard Nixon used to do.
**Peace or Friend – used by peace groups, counter-culture, from Chicago to Tiananmen Square.
**Bunny ears – used facetiously behind the head of a subject of a photograph.
*Palm facing the signer
**Two - indicating quantity, although more common with palm turned around.
**Insulting – largely restricted to the UK, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.
**Peace – in the United States without respect to the direction. Sometimes used as an informal [[valediction]].
*Used with other movement:
**[[Air quotes]] – flexing fingers, palm out, both hands.<ref>[http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/air-quotes.html Air quotes] entry on [http://www.phrases.org.uk/ www.phrases.org.uk] by [http://www.phrases.org.uk/gary-martin.html Gary Martin].</ref>
**The letter V, in [[American Sign Language|ASL]] –<ref>Staff. [http://www.iidc.indiana.edu/cedir/kidsweb/asl.html American Manual Alphabet Chart] Center for Disability Information & Referral (CeDIR), Indiana Institute on Disability and Community at Indiana University,</ref> used when spelling. This handshape is also used in a number of signs, including "to see/look" done in a similar manner to the military use.<ref>[http://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/pages-signs/s/see.htm See], [http://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/ ASL University]</ref>
==V sign as an insult==<!--If this section title is changed, then change the redirect [[V sign as an insult]]-->
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The insulting version of the gesture (with the palm inwards) is often compared to the offensive gesture known as "[[the finger]]". The "two-fingered salute", or "bowfinger", as it is also known, is commonly performed by flicking the V upwards from wrist or elbow. The V sign, when the palm is facing toward the person giving the sign, has long been an insulting gesture in England,<ref name=BSC-HV>Staff [http://www.britishshakespearecompany.com/synopsis.html Henry V],[[British Shakespeare Company]].Accessed [[23 April]] [[2008]]</ref> and later in the rest of the [[United Kingdom]]; its use is largely restricted to the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.<ref>V sign as an insult:<!--references for countries listed-->
*UK: Staff. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/beds/bucks/herts/7296889.stm No ban for speeding V-sign biker] [[BBC]] [[14 March]] [[2008]]
*UK: Staff. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/vote2001/hi/english/features/newsid_1344000/1344190.stm Two fingers Prescott] [[BBC]], [[22 May]] [[2001]]
*IE: Staff. [http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/shambolic-irish-give-two-fingers-to-the-past-135500.html Shambolic Irish give two fingers to the past] [[Irish Independent]]
*AU: [http://www.abc.net.au/profiles/content/s2193276.htm?site=science/k2 Karl S. Kruszelnicki]. [http://www.abc.net.au/science/k2/moments/s655611.htm Arrow Up Yours & Plague 1] [http://www.abc.net.au/ www.abc.net.au]. Accessed [[23 April]] [[2008]]
*NZ:Glyn Harper [http://www.massey.ac.nz/~wwpubafs/magazine/2002_Nov/stories/questions.html Just the Answer] Alumni Magazine [Massey University] November 2002.
</ref> It is frequently used to signify defiance (especially to authority), contempt or derision,<ref>Defiance, contempt or derision:
*Staff, [http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-vsign.html V-sign], [http://www.encyclopedia.com/about.aspx encyclopedia.com] cites The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English 2008 "Brit. a similar sign made with the first two fingers pointing up and the back of the hand facing outward, used as a gesture of abuse or contempt". Accessed [[9 May]] [[2008]].
*Staff. [http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/sportnews/2007/12/20/hooligan-grandson-of-legend-89520-20260703/ Hooligan grandson of legend], [[Daily Mirror]], [[20 December]] [[2007]]
*Staff. [http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/mostpopular.var.2086046.mostviewed.vsign_led_to_assault_on_school_bus_teens.php V-sign led to assault on school bus teens] [[The Press (York)]], [[1 March]] [[2008]]</ref> and is often accompanied by the phrases "up yours" or "fuck off". It is seen in the poster and DVD cover of Ken Loach's film ''[[Kes (film)|Kes]]''.
As an example of the V sign (palm inward) as an insult, on [[November 1]], [[1990]], ''[[The Sun (newspaper)|The Sun]]'', a popular British [[tabloid]], ran an article on its front page with the headline "Up Yours, Delors" next to a large hand making a V sign protruding from a [[Union flag]] cuff. ''The Sun'' urged its readers to stick two fingers up at then President of the [[European Commission]] [[Jacques Delors]], who had suggested that more European integration might be a good thing. The article attracted a number of complaints about its alleged racism, but the now defunct [[Press Council]] rejected the complaints after the editor of ''The Sun'' stated that the paper reserved the right to use vulgar abuse in the interests of Britain.<ref>http://www.sterlingtimes.org/delors.jpg</ref><ref>[http://newswww.bbc.net.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4124328.stm BBC NEWS | Politics | From two jags to two fingers<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
For a time in the UK, "a Harvey (Smith)" became a way of describing the insulting version of the V sign, much as "[[Pierre Cambronne|the word of Cambronne]]" is used in France, or "the [[Pierre Trudeau|Trudeau]] salute" is used to describe the [[the finger|one-fingered salute]] in Canada. This happened because, in 1971, show-jumper [[Harvey Smith (showjumper)|Harvey Smith]] was disqualified for making a televised V sign to the judges after winning the British Show Jumping Derby at [[Hickstead]]. (His win was reinstated two days later.)<ref>Staff [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/15/newsid_2534000/2534107.stm On this Day [[15 August]] [[1971]]: 'V-sign' costs rider victory] "BBC The infamous gesture won him an entry in the Chambers dictionary which defined 'a Harvey Smith' as 'a V-sign with the palm inwards, signifying derision and contempt'". Accessed [[23 April]] [[2008]]</ref>
Harvey Smith pleaded that he was simply using a Victory sign, a defence also used by other figures in the public eye.<ref name=iocns>Staff. [http://www.icons.org.uk/theicons/collection/the-v-sign/biography/v-for-get-stuffed The V sign], [http://www.icons.org.uk/about-us www.icons.org.uk]. Accessed [[23 April]] [[2008]]</ref> Sometimes foreigners visiting the countries mentioned above use the "two-fingered salute" without knowing it is offensive to the natives, for example when ordering two beers in a noisy pub, or in the case of the United States president [[George H. W. Bush]], who while touring Australia in 1992, attempted to give a "peace sign" to a group of farmers in [[Canberra]] — who were protesting about U.S. farm subsidies — and instead gave the insulting V sign.<ref>[[Webster Griffin Tarpley]] and [[Anton Chaitkin]] (2004). George Bush: The Unauthorized Biography, Progressive Press paperback edition (2004), p. 651(web link to [http://www.tarpley.net/bush25.htm Chapter -XXV- Thyroid Storm]). Tarpley & Chaitkin cite the [[Washington Post]], [[January 3]], [[1992]].</ref>
===Origins===
An early recorded use of the 'two-fingered salute' is in the [[Macclesfield Psalter]] of c.1330 (in the [[Fitzwilliam Museum]], Cambridge), being made by a glove in the psalter’s marginalia.<ref name=BSC-HV>Staff [http://www.britishshakespearecompany.com/synopsis.html Henry V],[[British Shakespeare Company]].Accessed [[23 April]] [[2008]]</ref>
The belief that the V sign originated among archers might have its origin in the work of the historian [[Jean Froissart]] (c. 1337-c. 1404). In his "[[Froissart's Chronicles|Chronicles]]", he recounts a story of the English waving their fingers at the French during a siege of a [[castle]], however he makes no reference to which fingers were used.{{Fact|date=April 2008}}
According to a popular [[Urban legend|legend]] the two-fingers salute and/or V sign derives from the gestures of [[English longbow|longbowmen]] fighting in the [[English people|English]] army at the [[Battle of Agincourt]] (1415) during the [[Hundred Years' War]].<ref name=BSC-HV/><ref>Glyn Harper [http://www.massey.ac.nz/~wwpubafs/magazine/2002_Nov/stories/questions.html Just the Answer] Alumni Magazine [Massey University] November 2002.</ref> The story claims that the [[French people|French]] cut off the index and middle [[finger]]s of the right hand of any captured [[archer]]s, and so the gesture was a sign of defiance from the greatly outnumbered English. Historian Juliet Barker quotes [[Jean Le Fevre]] (who fought on the English side at Agincourt) as saying that Henry V included a reference to the French cutting off longbowmen's fingers in his pre-battle speech.<ref>[[Juliet Barker]] (2005). Agincourt: The King, the Campaign, the Battle Pub: Little, Brown. ISBN 978-0-316-72648-1 (UK). ISBN 978-0-316-01503-5 (U.S.: Agincourt: Henry V and the Battle That Made England (2006)). p. 284</ref> If this is correct it confirms that the story was around at the time of Agincourt, although it doesn't necessarily mean that the French practised it, just that Henry found it useful for propaganda, and it does not show that the 'two-fingers salute' is derived from the hypothetical behaviour of English archers at that battle.
The first definitive known reference to the ‘V-sign’ in French is in the works of [[François Rabelais]], a sixteenth-century satirist."<ref name=BSC-HV>Staff. [http://www.britishshakespearecompany.com/synopsis.html Henry V],[[British Shakespeare Company]].Accessed [[23 April]] [[2008]]</ref>
It was not until the start of the 20th century that clear evidence of the use of insulting V sign in England became available, when in 1901 a worker outside Parkgate ironworks in Rotherham used the gesture, (captured on the film), to indicated he did not like being filmed.<ref name=iocns>Staff. [http://www.icons.org.uk/theicons/collection/the-v-sign/biography/v-for-get-stuffed The V sign], [http://www.icons.org.uk/about-us www.icons.org.uk].</ref> Peter Opie interviwed children in the 1950s and observed in ''The Lore And Language Of Schoolchildren'' that the much older thumbing of the nose (cock-a-snook) had been replaced by the V-sign as the most common insulting gesture used in the playground.<ref name=iocns/>
[[Desmond Morris]] discussed various possible origins of the V sign in ''Gestures: Their Origins and Distribution'', (published 1979) and came to no definite conclusion:
{{quote|because of the strong taboo associated with the gesture (its public use has often been heavily penalized). As a result, there is a tendency to shy away from discussing it in detail. It is "known to be dirty" and is passed on from generation to generation by people who simply accept it as a recognized obscenity without bothering to analyse it... Several of the rival claims are equally appealing. The truth is that we will probably never know...|Desmond Morris<ref name=iocns/>}}
== Winston Churchill and the victory sign ==
[[Image:Churchill waves to crowds.jpg|thumb|left|Winston Churchill waving the V sign]]
[[Image:VEGA Royal Square Jersey.jpg|thumb|During the [[Occupation of the Channel Islands|German occupation]] of [[Jersey]], a stonemason repairing the paving of the Royal Square incorporated a V for victory under the noses of the occupiers. This was later amended to refer to the Red Cross ship ''Vega''. The addition of the date 1945 and a more recent frame has transformed it into a monument]]
[[Winston Churchill]] used a V sign in both versions to symbolize "V for Victory" during [[World War II]].<ref>David Viggers. [http://blogs.reuters.com/photo/2007/10/22/universal-gestures-of-understanding/ Reuters Blogs: Photographers: What makes a great picture? Universal gestures of understanding], [[Reuters]], [[22 October]] [[2007]]</ref> The use of the V sign was recommended to Churchill by [[Aleister Crowley]], to counteract the Nazi's svastika.<ref>Tim Cummings. [http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,,1257166,00.html The Guardian Books Review: Beyond Belief, [[10 July]] [[2004]]</ref> Early on in the war he used palm in (sometimes with a cigar between the fingers).<ref>[http://www.number-10.gov.uk/files/images/wc%20outside%20D%20st.jpg Churchill outside Downing Street]</ref> Later in the war he used palm out.<ref>[http://www.number-10.gov.uk/files/images/WC%20V%20sign1.jpg Churchill's famous victory sign]</ref> It is thought that the aristocratic Churchill made the change after it was explained to him what it signified to the other classes in Britain.<ref>Staff. [http://postalheritage.org.uk/exhibitions/icons/vsign The V Sign] The British Postal Museum & Archive (BPMA).</ref><ref name=iocns/> He developed the idea from a BBC campaign.
During World War II, Victor de Lavelaye suggested that Belgians, who were chalking up the letters [[Royal Air Force|RAF]], should add a V for ''victoire'' or ''vrijheid'' (respectively French for "victory" and Dutch for "freedom"). Since V stands for "victory" in French, [[Charles de Gaulle]] used it in every speech from 1942~1969).<ref>[http://www.ina.fr/archivespourtous/index.php?vue=notice&id_notice=I00011986 Archive video of Charles de Gaulle's speech at the London Albert Hall], [[November 11]], [[1942]]</ref> This idea was developed by the BBC and on [[July 20]], [[1941]] a campaign was launched with a message from Churchill for [[occupied Europe]].<ref name="BBC News">{{cite web | work=news.bbc.co.uk | title=Newswatch 1940s | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/newswatch/history/noflash/html/1940s.stm}}</ref> The Channel islanders also joined in the Churchill's V sign campaign by daubing the letter 'V' (for Victory) over German signs.
Douglas Ritchie of the BBC European Service, suggested an audible V using the [[Morse code]] rhythm — three dots and a dash. This is the rhythm of the opening bars of [[Beethoven's Fifth Symphony]] (since V is the [[Roman numerals|Roman numeral]] for 5), and it was used as the call-sign by the [[BBC]] in its foreign language programmes to occupied Europe for the rest of the war. The irony that they were composed by a German was not lost on many of the audience or for the more musically educated that it was "''[[Symphony No. 5 (Beethoven)#Fate motif|Fate knocking on the door]]''" of the [[Third Reich]]. ({{Audio|Beet5mov1bars1to5.ogg|Listen to this call-sign.}})
A rhythm similar to that of the Morse V rhythm is featured prominently in the bass line for the [[The Clash|Clash]] song [[London Calling (song)|London Calling]]. The song's title was taken from the [[BBC World Service]]'s station identification.
== Vietnam War, victory and peace ==
[[Image:Nixon-depart.png|thumb|right|Nixon departing the White House on [[August 9]], [[1974]]]]
[[President of the United States|U.S. President]] [[Richard Nixon]] used it to signal victory, an act which became one of his best-known trademarks. He also used it on his departure from public office following his [[Watergate scandal|resignation]] in 1974.
A similar sign was used in protests against the [[Vietnam War]] (and subsequent anti-war protests) and by the [[counterculture]] as a sign of peace, including the sense of not war. Because the hippies of the day often flashed this sign (palm out) while vocalizing "Peace", it became popularly known (through association) as the peace sign.<ref name=icons-asian-peace>Staff. [http://www.icons.org.uk/theicons/collection/the-v-sign/a-harvey-smith-to-you/the-asian-v-sign-in-progress The Japanese Version (the Sign of Peace)] [http://www.icons.org.uk/about-us ICONS. A portrait of England]. Accessed [[1 June]] [[2008]]</ref>
== East Asia and the V sign in Photographs==
During the [[1972 Winter Olympics]] in [[Sapporo]], figure skater [[Janet Lynn]] stumbled into Japanese [[pop culture]] when she fell during a free-skate period—but continued to smile even as she sat on the ice. Though she placed only third in the actual competition, her cheerful diligence and indefatigability resonated with many Japanese viewers, making her an overnight [[celebrity]] in [[Japan]]. Afterwards, Lynn (a peace activist) was repeatedly seen flashing the V sign in the Japanese [[Mass media|media]]. Though the V sign was known of in Japan prior to Lynn's use of it there (from the post-WWII Allied occupation of Japan), she is credited by some Japanese for having popularized its use in amateur photographs.<ref name=icons-asian-peace/> According to the other theory (actually present in the Japanese version of this entry), the V sign was popularized by the actor and singer Jun Inoue, who showed it the Conica photo camera commercial in 1972.
Through the 1970s and 1980s in Japan, the V sign was often accompanied by a vocalization: "piisu!" This [[gairaigo]] exclamation, which stood for "peace", has since fallen into disuse, though the V sign itself remains steadfastly popular. It is especially popular in photography, as it is a favorite pose of both teens and adults - in Japan, China and elsewhere in Asia.{{Fact|date=May 2008}}
Another possible explanation for the popularity (and perhaps emergence) of the sign in Japan is that people (usually children) are asked to answer the question ''Ichi tasu ichi wa?'' (meaning "One plus one equals?") whose answer is ''ni'' ("two"). Being a Japanese equivalent of saying ''Cheese'', the ''ee'' sound makes the photographed ones appear as smiling on the photos. Thus, besides saying "two", they are also giving the answer using two fingers.
The V sign is also commonly used in [[anime]] and Japanese live-action shows.{{Fact|date=May 2008}} When characters show this sign, it is often accompanied by an exclamation of "Vui!" (pronounced {{IPA|/vɯi/}} or {{IPA|/bɯi/}}), an approximation of the English pronunciation "vee" which differentiates it from "bii", the Japanese name of the letter B (as many Japanese speakers hear the [[voiced labiodental fricative]] as being the same as the [[voiced bilabial plosive]], see [[Engrish]]). A more common phrase is "kachi" which means victory (V for Victory) or luck. Several anime characters incorporate the V sign into their poses, including [[Ash Ketchum]] of [[Pokémon]] fame, both [[Sailor Moon]] and [[Sailor V]], as well as video game characters such as [[Mario]], [[Sonic the Hedgehog (character)|Sonic the Hedgehog]], [[Chun-Li]], and [[Ling Xiaoyu]] from the [[Tekken]] series.{{Fact|date=May 2008}}<!-- for the whole paragraph -->
Due to Japanese cultural influences in the region{{Fact|date=September 2007}}, the V sign in photographs has become popular with young people throughout [[East Asia]] and [[Southeast Asia]]. {{Fact|date=May 2008}}
In the [[Philippines]], the popularity of the use of the "V" sign in photographs is mostly done as a mockery of its popularity and usage by their Asian neighbors (in particular, of characters in soap operas having their pictures taken). The "V" sign usually stands for "peace" in the Filipino context and is thus a cause for bewilderment and amusement when seen on Asian commercials, soap operas, and other media. When a person uses the "V" sign in the same manner as it is used in photographs by other Asian countries, it is mostly an attempt to be cute or funny in the photograph. When putting the "V" sign on top a person's head, it usually is done to comically "demonize" that person rather than just give that person [[Bunny ears (Gesture)|Bunny ears]].{{Fact|date=May 2008}}<!-- for all the facts in the paragraph not just the last sentence-->
==Former Yugoslavia==
During the [[Yugoslav wars]], the V sign was widely used by the [[Bosnians]] and [[Croats]] as a victory/defiance sign. For Croats it represents bravery and hope. This was brought about as a reaction to the [[three-finger salute (Serbian)|Serbian three finger salute]] often raised by the [[Serbs]].{{fact|date=May 2008}}
== Other ==
* In [[Unicode]], the V sign "Victory Hand" symbol is U+270C (<sub style="font-size:200%">✌</sub>).
==References==
* [[Desmond Morris]] with [[Peter Collett]], [[Peter Marsh]] and [[Marie O'Shaughnessy]]. ''Gestures: Their Origins and Distribution''. London: Jonathan Cape, 1979. ISBN 0-224-01570-2; NY: Stein and Day, ISBN 0-8128-2607-8
==Further reading==
* Photos of the V sign:
** [http://www.number-10.gov.uk/files/images/wc%20outside%20D%20st.jpg Churchill Outside no. 10]
** [http://www.number-10.gov.uk/files/images/WC%20V%20sign1.jpg Churchill Victory Sign]
** [http://library.educationworld.net/txt18/depart.jpg Nixon departing office]
** [http://watch.windsofchange.net/pics/geh67.300105195350.jpg An Iraqi woman after casting her vote at a polling station in Baghdad, in 2005]
** [http://kuvat2.iltasanomat.fi/iltasanomat/iDoc/1353189-vayrynen400b.jpg Paavo Väyrynen after Finnish Centre party named him foreign trade and development minister]
* The V sign in the news:
** [http://www.guardian.co.uk/gall/0,8542,972149,00.html Guardian [[June 6]], [[2002]]: In pictures the V sign]
** [http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30100-13131728,00.html Sky News [[June 18]], [[2004]]: OAP fined £100 for V sign]
* [http://www.snopes.com/language/apocryph/pluckyew.htm Urban Legends Reference Pages: pluck yew]
* [http://www.desmond-morris.com/books.php Desmond Morris book list]
==Footnotes==
{{reflist}}
{{Gestures}}
[[Category:Gestures]]
[[Category:Peace symbols]]
[[da:V-tegn]]
[[de:Victory-Zeichen]]
[[ja:ピースサイン]]
[[no:V-tegn]]
[[zh:V字手势]]