Gender symbol
A gender symbol is a symbol used to denote the sex of a life form or the gender of a human being.
Original gender symbols
The two original gender symbols are derived from astronomical symbols. They were first used to denote the effective gender of plants (i.e. sex of individual in a given crossbreed, since most plants are hermaphroditic) by Carolus Linnaeus in 1751. [1]
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From the symbol of Mars (U+2642 ♂). The symbol for a male organism or man. |
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From the symbol of Venus (U+2640 ♀). The symbol for a female organism or woman. |
Other gender-related symbols
Numerous variations of gender symbols have been developed, including:
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From the symbol of Mercury (U+263F ☿). The symbol for an intersexual or hermaphroditic organism. |
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From the female and male symbols (U+26A5 ⚥). Intersexual or transgender. |
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Another transgender symbol, a combination of the male and female sign with a third, combined arm representing transgender people (Unicode: U+26A7 ⚧). |
Other gender symbols in Unicode 4.1+:
- ⚢ (U+26A2)
- Double female sign, sometimes used as a female homosexual symbol
- ⚣ (U+26A3)
- Double male sign, sometimes used as a male homosexual symbol
- ⚤ (U+26A4)
- Interlocked male and female sign, occasionally used as a heterosexual symbol
- ⚦ (U+26A6)
- Male with stroke sign, used as a symbol for transgendered.
- ⚨ (U+26A8)
- Vertical male with stroke sign
- ⚩ (U+26A9)
- Horizontal male with stroke sign
- ⚪ (U+26AA)
- Medium white circle base, used as a symbol for asexuality, sexless or genderless
- ⚲ (U+26B2)
- Neuter
See also
Notes
- ^ The Origin of the Male and Female Symbols of Biology, William T. Stearn, Taxon, Vol. 11, No. 4 (May, 1962), pp. 109-113
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gender symbols.