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==Origin==
==Origin==


Fuck you
===Classical era===
[[File:Jean-Léon Gérôme - Diogenes - Walters 37131.jpg|thumb|The [[Cynicism (philosophy)|Cynic philosopher]] [[Diogenes of Sinope|Diogenes]], pictured by [[Jean-Léon Gérôme|Gérôme]] with the large jar in which he lived; when strangers at the inn were expressing their wish to catch sight of the great orator [[Demosthenes]], Diogenes is said to have stuck out his middle finger and exclaimed "this, for you, is the [[Demagogue#History and definition of the word|demagogue]] of the [[Classical Athens|Athenians]]"<ref name="Laertius" />]]

The middle finger gesture was used in Ancient times as a symbol of sexual intercourse, in a manner meant to degrade, intimidate and threaten the individual receiving the gesture.<ref name="sanjose" /> It also represented the phallus, with the fingers next to the middle finger representing [[testicle]]s;<ref name="offensive" /> from its close association, the gesture may have assumed [[Apotropaic magic|apotropaic]] potency.<ref name="Corbeill" /> In the 1st-century [[Mediterranean]] world, extending the ''finger'' was one of many methods used to divert the ever-present threat of the [[evil eye]].<ref name="The New Testament World: Insights from Cultural Anthropology" />

In [[Greek language|Greek]] the gesture was known as the ''katapygon''<ref name="tufts" /><ref name="Before Sexuality: The Construction of Erotic Experience in the Ancient Greek World" /> (''κατάπυγον'', from ''kata'' – κατά, "downwards"<ref name="tufts1" /> and ''pugē'' – πυγή, "rump, buttocks"<ref name="tufts2" />). In [[ancient Greek comedy]], the finger was a gesture of [[insult]] toward another person, with the term ''katapugon'' also referring to "a male who submits to anal penetration"<ref name="Not the classical ideal: Athens and the construction of the other in Greek art" /> or ''katapygaina'' to a female.<ref name="The Poetics of Eros in Ancient Greece" /> In [[Aristophanes]]'s comedy ''[[The Clouds]]'' (423 BC),<ref name="Dover" /> when the character Socrates is quizzing his student on [[Metre (poetry)|poetic meters]], Strepsiades declares that he knows quite well what a [[Dactyl (poetry)|dactyl]] is, and gives the finger. The gesture is a visual pun on the two meanings of the Greek word ''dactylos'', both "[[dactyly|finger]]" and the rhythmic measure composed of a long syllable and two short, like the joints of a finger ({{nowrap|<sup>— ‿ ‿</sup>,}} which also appears as a visual pun on the penis and testicles in a medieval Latin text<ref name="The Latin Sexual Vocabulary" />). Socrates reacts to the gesture as boorish and childish.<ref name="Dover" /><ref name="Clouds (ll. 650-6)" /> The gesture recurs as a form of mockery in ''[[Peace (play)|Peace]]'', alongside farting in someone's face;<ref name="Peace (ll. 546-9)" /><ref name="tufts3" /> the usage is later explained in the ''[[Suda]]'' and included in the ''[[Adagia]]'' of [[Erasmus]].<ref name="stoa" /><ref name="Adages III.iii.87" /> The verb "to play the [[Sifnos|Siphnian]]" appears in a fragment of Aristophanes and has a similar meaning;<ref name="tufts4" /><ref name="The Maculate Muse: Obscene Language in Attic Comedy" /> the usage is once again explained in the ''Suda'', where it is said to mean "to touch the anus with a finger".<ref name="stoa5" /> [[Diogenes Laertius]] records how the Cynic philosopher Diogenes directed the gesture at the orator Demosthenes in 4th-century BC [[Classical Athens|Athens]].<ref name="Laertius" /> In the ''[[Discourses of Epictetus]]'', Diogenes's target is instead one of the [[sophists]].<ref name="Discourses of Epictetus III.2.i" />

In [[Latin]], the middle finger was the ''digitus [[Homosexuality in ancient Rome#Impudicitia|impudicus]]'', meaning the "shameless, indecent or offensive finger".<ref name="offensive" /> In the 1st century AD, [[Persius]] had superstitious female relatives concoct a charm with the "infamous finger" (''digitus [[Infamia|infamis]]'') and "purifying spit";<ref name="Satires II.33" /><ref name="Adages II.iv.68" /> while in the ''[[Satyricon]]'', an old woman uses dust, spit and her middle finger to mark the forehead before casting a spell.<ref name="Satyricon 131" /> The poet [[Martial]] has a character in good health extend "the indecent one" toward three doctors.<ref name="offensive" /><ref name="Epigrammata VI.70.5" /> In another [[Martial#Martial's Epigrams|epigram]], Martial wrote: "Laugh loud, Sextillus, at whoever calls you a ''[[Cinaedus#Cinaedus|cinaedus]]'' and extend your middle finger."<ref name="Epigrammata II.28.1-2" /><ref name="Roman Homosexuality" /> [[Juvenal]], through [[synecdoche]], has the "middle [[Fingernail|nail]]" cocked at threatening [[Fortuna]].<ref name="Satire X.52-3" /> The indecent finger features again in a mocking context in the ''[[Priapeia]]'', a collection of poems relating to the phallic god [[Priapus]].<ref name="Corbeill" /> In [[Late Antiquity]], the term "shameless finger" is explained in the ''[[Etymologiae]]'' of [[Isidore of Seville]] with reference to its frequent use when accusing someone of a "shameful action".<ref name="The Body Legal in Barbarian Law" />


===Medieval era===
===Medieval era===

Revision as of 22:28, 31 October 2015

This article is about the gesture. For other uses, see Finger (disambiguation).
The Finger

In Western culture, the finger (as in giving someone the finger or the bird[1] or flipping someone off,[1]) is an obscene hand gesture. It communicates moderate to extreme contempt, and is roughly equivalent in meaning to "fuck off", "fuck you", "shove it up your ass", "up yours" or "go fuck yourself." It is performed by showing the back of a closed fist that has only the middle finger extended upwards, though in some locales the thumb is extended. Extending the finger is considered a symbol of contempt in several cultures, especially Western ones. Many cultures use similar gestures to display their disrespect, although others use it to express pointing without intentional disrespect toward other cultures.

The gesture dates back to Ancient Greece and it was also used in Ancient Rome. Historically, it represented the phallus. In some modern cultures, it has gained increasing recognition as a sign of disrespect, and has been used by music artists, athletes, and politicians. Most still view the gesture as obscene.

Origin

Fuck you

Medieval era

Baseball pitcher Old Hoss Radbourn pictured giving the finger to cameraman, 1886. (Back row, far left). First known photograph of the gesture.[2]

The finger is similar to a gesture made by knights in the Middle Ages, in which they raised their lances upright towards each other.[3]

Modern era (United States)

Linguist Jesse Sheidlower traces the gesture's development in the United States to the 1890s.[3] According to anthropologist Desmond Morris, the gesture probably came to the United States via Italian immigrants.[4] The first documented appearance of the finger in the United States was in 1886, when Old Hoss Radbourn, a baseball pitcher for the Boston Beaneaters, was photographed giving it to a member of their rival the New York Giants.[4] In the film Speedy (1928), Harold Lloyd's character gives himself the finger into a distorting mirror at Luna Park, about 24 minutes into the film; the exact meaning in the film's context is not clear.

Cultural impact

Politics and military incidents

The gesture has been involved in notable political events. During the USS Pueblo incident, in which an American ship was captured by North Korea, the captured American crewmembers often discreetly gave the finger in staged photo ops, thus ruining the North Koreans' efforts at propaganda. The North Koreans, ignorant of what the gesture meant, were at first told by the prisoners that it was a "Hawaiian good luck sign", similar to "hang loose". When the guards finally figured things out, the crewmembers were subjected to more severe mistreatment.[5] Abbie Hoffman used the gesture at the 1968 Democratic National Convention.[3] Ronald Reagan, while serving as the Governor of California, gave the middle finger to counterculture protestors in Berkeley, California.[3] Nelson Rockefeller, then the Vice President of the United States, directed the gesture to hecklers at a 1976 campaign stop near Binghamton, New York, leading it to be called the "Rockefeller gesture".[3] Pierre Trudeau, then the Prime Minister of Canada, gave the finger to protesters in Salmon Arm, British Columbia,[6] earning the incident the nickname the "Salmon Arm salute";.[7] The gesture itself has also been nicknamed the "Trudeau salute".[8] Former president George W. Bush gave the finger to the camera at an Austin production facility during his term as governor of Texas, saying it was "just a one-finger victory salute."[9] Anthony Weiner gave the finger to reporters after leaving his election headquarters the night he lost the 2013 primary election for Mayor of New York City.[10]

During World War II, the 91st Bombardment Group of the United States Army Air Forces referred to the gesture as the "rigid digit" salute. It was used in a more jocular manner, to suggest an airman had committed an error or infraction; the term was a reference to British slang terms for inattentiveness (i.e. "pull your finger out (of your bum)").[11] The "order of the rigid digit" continued after the war as a series of awards presented by the veteran's association of the 91st, marked by wooden statuettes of a hand giving the single finger gesture.[12] In 2005 during the war in Iraq, Gunnery Sergeant Michael Burghardt gained prominence when the Omaha World-Herald published a photo of Burghardt making the gesture towards Iraqi insurgents he believed to be watching after an improvised explosive device failed to kill him.[13]

The middle finger has been involved in judicial hearings. An appellate court in Hartford, Connecticut ruled in 1976 that gesturing with the middle finger was offensive, but not obscene, after a police officer charged a 16-year-old with making an obscene gesture when the student gave the officer the middle finger.[14] The case was appealed to the Connecticut Supreme Court,[15] which upheld the decision.[16] In March 2006, a federal lawsuit was filed regarding the free speech issue.[17]

Giving the finger has resulted in negative consequences. A Malaysian man was bludgeoned to death after giving the finger to a motorist following a car chase.[18] A Pakistani man was deported by the United Arab Emirates for the gesture, which violates indecency codes.[19]

People have given the finger as a method of political protest. At a concert, Ricky Martin gave a picture of George W. Bush the finger to protest the War in Iraq.[20] Serbian protesters gave the finger to the Russian embassy regarding their support of Slobodan Milošević.[21] Artist Ai Weiwei has used the finger in photographs and sculptures as a political statement.[22] As a political message to the Czech President, Czech artist David Cerny floated an outsize, purple statue of a hand on the River Vltava in Prague; its middle finger extended towards Prague Castle, the Presidential seat.[23]

A group of homeless children from Keningauin, in Borneo, giving the finger while sniffing glue from a plastic bag.
A message on the Vltava river under Prague Castle from the Czech sculptor David Černý to the left-wing president Miloš Zeman before the precipitated 2013 parliament election in the Czech Republic.

The use of the middle finger has become pervasive in popular culture. The band Cobra Starship released a song called "Middle Finger", and released a music video that showed people giving the finger.[24] Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan installed a marble statue of a middle finger measuring 11 metres (36 ft), located directly in front of the Milan Stock Exchange.[25] A now-famous photograph of Johnny Cash shows him giving the middle finger to a photographer during a 1969 concert at San Quentin State Prison, released as At San Quentin.[26] However, the photo remained fairly obscure until 1998, when producer Rick Rubin made it the centerpiece of an ad in Billboard criticizing country radio for not giving airplay to Cash's Grammy-winning album Unchained.[27] Cameron Diaz made the gesture during a photo shoot for Esquire.[28] Harold Lloyd shot the finger to his own reflection in a Coney Island funhouse after getting paint on his suit in Speedy, his final silent feature, from 1928.[29]

Athletes, including Stefan Effenberg, Ron Artest, Luis Suárez, Juan Pablo Montoya, Iván Rodríguez, Danny Graves, Jack McDowell, Natasha Zvereva, Josh Smith, Bryan Cox, and Johnny Manziel[30] have been suspended or fined for making the gesture.[4][28][31][32][33] José Paniagua was released by the Chicago White Sox after giving the middle finger to an umpire; he hasn't played in the majors since.[31] Baseball executive Chub Feeney once resigned after giving the finger to fans on Fan Appreciation Night.[31][34] Bud Adams, owner of the National Football League's Tennessee Titans, was fined US$250,000 for giving both middle fingers to the fans of the Buffalo Bills during a game.[35][36] Professional wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin is also famous for flashing his middle finger as part of his gimmick.

Many musical artists, including Madonna, Lady Gaga, Eminem, Katy Perry, and Adele have publicly made the gesture.[37][38] Britney Spears gave the gesture towards members of the paparazzi, but had to apologize when fans interpreted the gesture as directed at them.[4] M.I.A. gave the gesture during the Super Bowl XLVI Halftime Show.[4][39] The National Football League, NBC, and M.I.A. apologized.[4][40] The CD itself for Kid Rock's album Devil Without a Cause is a picture of his raised middle finger. On the cover of Moby Grape's first album, Moby Grape, band member Don Stevenson was caught flipping the bird at the camera. The finger was airbrushed out of subsequent releases of the album.

In automobile driving culture, giving the finger to a fellow motorist communicates displeasure at another person's reckless driving habits and/or their disregard for common courtesy.

The finger is included in Unicode as U+1F595 🖕 REVERSED HAND WITH MIDDLE FINGER EXTENDED.[41]

The media sometimes refers to the gesture as being mistaken for an indication of "we're number one", typically indicated with a raised index finger.[34][42][43] Sometimes, though, the "mistake" is actually an intentional euphemism meant to indirectly convey the gesture in a medium where a direct description would be inappropriate. For example, Don Meredith is famously noted in a 1972 Monday Night Football game describing the Finger of a dejected Houston Oilers fan as, "He thinks they're number one in the nation."[44] Ira Robbins, a law professor, believes the finger is no longer an obscene gesture.[4] Psychologist David Walsh, founder of the National Institute on Media and the Family, sees the growing acceptance of the middle finger as a sign of the growth of a "culture of disrespect".[28]

Google Street View's picture of the area around the Wisconsin Governor's Mansion, taken in 2011, shows a jogger giving the finger in the direction of the mansion.[45]

Similar gestures

The hand gesture on the left is the normal "victory" symbol. The gesture on the right is the obscene gesture.

In the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand, the V sign, when given with back of the hand towards the recipient, serves a similar purpose. George H. W. Bush, former President of the United States, accidentally made the gesture while on a diplomatic trip to Australia.[46] In countries where Spanish, Portuguese, or French are spoken, and especially in Spain, Portugal, Brazil, France the gesture involves raising a fist and slapping the biceps on the same arm as the fist used, sometimes called the Spanish slap, is equivalent to the finger. Italy, Poland, and countries under the influence of Russian culture,[citation needed] such as Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine, also see it as equivalent to the finger, but the majority of young people in these countries use the finger as an insult, which is associated with the Western culture.[4]

In Iran and Iraq, a gesture involving exposing only the thumb in a vertical orientation – a thumbs up – is used in lieu of the finger to express roughly the same sentiment.[47] a similarly obscene gesture is extending all five digits with the palm facing forward, meaning "you have five fathers", thus calling someone a bastard.[47] This is similar to a gesture known in Greece as the Moutza, where the five fingers are spread wide and the palm is pushed towards the recipient.[48] More commonly in Turkish or Slavic regions, the fig sign (also known as nah or shish) serves as the equivalent to the finger, meaning "you won't get it"/"in your dreams". The gesture is typically made with the hand and fingers curled and the thumb thrust between the middle and index fingers. This gesture is also used similarly in Indonesia, Turkey and China.[49] In most Arabic speaking countries and in Israel, doing the opposite as the western style of the finger, so all fingers open with the middle finger down flat, not curled, and the palm is facing up.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Kipfer, Barbara Ann; Chapman, Robert L. (2008). American Slang. HarperCollins. p. 165. ISBN 978-0-06-117947-1. OCLC 191931926.
  2. ^ Achorn, Edward (2010). Fifty-nine in '84: Old Hoss Radbourn, Barehanded Baseball, and the Greatest Season a Pitcher Ever Had. Smithsonian Books. p. 24. ISBN 978-0-06-182586-6.
  3. ^ a b c d e Oricchio, Michael (June 20, 1996). "Davis' Infamous Finger Salute Has Had a Big Hand in History; Folklorists: Roots Go Back At Least 2,000 Years To Ancient Rome". San Jose Mercury News. p. 16A. Retrieved July 9, 2012. (subscription required)
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Nasaw, Daniel (February 6, 2012). "When did the middle finger become offensive?". BBC News Magazine. BBC. Retrieved February 7, 2012.
  5. ^ Stu, Russell. "The Digit Affair". USS Pueblo Veteran's Association. Archived from the original on September 30, 2010. Retrieved September 30, 2010. The finger became an integral part of our anti-propaganda campaign. Any time a camera appeared, so did the fingers.
  6. ^ "Top aide put on spot over Trudeau's one-finger gesture". The Ottawa Citizen. August 25, 1982. p. 11. Retrieved July 17, 2012.
  7. ^ "One-finger salute crude to Ont. Film Review Bd". Toronto. Retrieved 2015-10-09.
  8. ^ "Former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau History Essay". UKEssays. Retrieved 2015-10-09.
  9. ^ "Bush Giving Middle Finger - Bush Middle Finger Video". About.com Political Humor.
  10. ^ Dolan, Laura; Flores, Rosa; McCaughan, Tim (September 11, 2013). "Weiner dodges sexting partner, flips the bird as he rides off". CNN.com. Retrieved September 11, 2013.
  11. ^ Freeman, Roger A. (1990). Mighty Eighth War Diary. Motorbooks Intl. ISBN 978-0879384951.
  12. ^ The Ragged Irregular, Vol. 4, No. 3, April 1971. accessed online 1 Aug 2012 p.3
  13. ^ Mikkelson, Barbara & David P. "Michael Burghardt" at Snopes.com: Urban Legends Reference Pages.
  14. ^ "Raising middle finger not obscene, judges say". The Miami News. Associated Press. December 28, 1976. p. 2A. Retrieved July 17, 2012.
  15. ^ "Leonard Backing Court Appeal On Middle Finger". The Hour. United Press International. January 8, 1977. p. 5. Retrieved July 17, 2012.
  16. ^ Mulligan, Hugh A. (January 30, 1978). "The Moving Finger Writes Legal History". The Evening Independent. p. 19-A. Retrieved July 17, 2012.
  17. ^ Reed Ward, Paula (March 14, 2006). "Middle finger salute leads to federal lawsuit". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. B1. Retrieved July 17, 2012.
  18. ^ "A fatal finger gesture". Thestar.com.my. April 17, 2010. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
  19. ^ Published on Sunday 9 January 2011 16:59 (January 9, 2011). "Dubai: Deportation for finger gesture man – News". Scotsman.com. Retrieved July 9, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  20. ^ "Daily News - Google News Archive Search". google.com.
  21. ^ The Post and Courier – Google News Archive Search
  22. ^ "MOMA – The Collection – Ai Weiwei. Study of Perspective – Tiananmen Square". Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved August 1, 2012.
  23. ^ "Czech floating finger sends president message". BBC News.
  24. ^ "Cobra Starship's 'Middle Finger' Video Is Bird-Flipping Fun – Music, Celebrity, Artist News". MTV.com. January 19, 2012. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
  25. ^ "Middle finger sculpture pops up in front of Milan Stock Exchange". National Post. September 27, 2010. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
  26. ^ "The Story Behind Johnny Cash's Infamous Middle Finger Photo ::Johnny Cash News". antiMusic.com. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
  27. ^ "The Triggerman" (July 18, 2010). "Johnny Cash's Famous Middle Finger". SavingCountryMusic.com. Retrieved August 2, 2012. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  28. ^ a b c "Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Google News Archive Search". google.com.
  29. ^ Bengtson, John (2011). Silent Visions: Discovering Early Hollywood and New York Through the Films of Harold Lloyd. Santa Monica Press. p. 228. ISBN 978-1-59580-057-2.
  30. ^ "Johnny Manziel fined $12K for obscene hand gesture on Monday Night Football". Yahoo Sports. 22 August 2014.
  31. ^ a b c Waldman, Katy. "Baseball and the bird. – Slate Magazine". Slate.com. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
  32. ^ Laverty, Gene (April 25, 2007). "Montoya Fined $10,000 by Nascar for Finger Gesture Caught by TV". Bloomberg. Retrieved July 11, 2012.
  33. ^ "Through the years with the crudest finger in sports". Sports Illustrated. February 5, 2007. Retrieved July 11, 2012.
  34. ^ a b Wulf, Steve (April 5, 1989). "All My Padres". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on July 9, 2012. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  35. ^ "NFL fines Titans owner Bud Adams $250,000 for obscene gesture". Sporting News. Aol.sportingnews.com. Associated Press. November 16, 2009. Retrieved July 11, 2012.
  36. ^ Mike Florio (November 18, 2009). "Could Bud Adams' middle finger endear NFL owners to fans?". Sporting News. Aol.sportingnews.com. Retrieved July 11, 2012.
  37. ^ Kaufman, Gil (February 6, 2012). "M.I.A. Super Bowl Middle Finger Joins Long List Of Celebrity Flip-Offs". MTV.com. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
  38. ^ Collett, Mike. "Adele turns tables on TV execs with finger gesture". Reuters. Retrieved July 11, 2012.
  39. ^ Gardner, Tim (February 5, 2012). "M.I.A. flips middle finger during Super Bowl halftime show". Retrieved February 6, 2012.
  40. ^ Frere-Jones, Sasha (February 6, 2012). "M.I.A. Shouldn't have apologized". The New Yorker. Retrieved February 15, 2012.
  41. ^ "Middle Finger Emoji". Emojipedia.
  42. ^ Kenneally, Tim (February 6, 2012). "Madonna's Super Bowl Halftime Show Edges Out the Game". reuters.com. Archived from the original on July 9, 2012. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  43. ^ Stevenson, Chris (April 21, 2011). "Bruins edge Habs early in OT". The Kingston Whig-Standard. QMI Agency. Archived from the original on July 9, 2012. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  44. ^ "Monday Night Football". Fun Facts & Information. Retrieved 2015-07-02.
  45. ^ Snider, Christian (2014-01-06). "The new Wisconsin salute". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
  46. ^ "The Prescott Courier - Google News Archive Search". google.com.
  47. ^ a b "What's A-O.K. in the U.S.A. Is Lewd and Worthless Beyond". The New York Times. August 18, 1996. Retrieved April 11, 2008.
  48. ^ Kass, John (October 9, 2009). "Curses! Hand it to the feds to insult us on every corner". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 11, 2012.
  49. ^ Kleinman, Zoe (August 16, 2010). "How the internet is changing language". BBC News. Bbc.com. Retrieved July 11, 2012.

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Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Middle finger gestures.

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