V sign

The V sign is a hand gesture in which the first and second fingers are raised and parted, whilst the remaining fingers are clenched. Generally considered a "Victory" sign, it can also carry connotations of "Peace" and "Defiance".

In the UK, if the hand is held out, palm towards the person performing the gesture (a peace sign reversed), this is considered to be highly insulting[1] (http://www.ideaorg.net/skinscribe/images/webold5.jpg), similar in severity to the one-fingered salute and meaning "Fuck off". However, in recent years its use has declined in favour of the one-fingered salute, partly due to American influence.

In Asia, the gesture is often used by persons posing in photographs, with no necessary particular meaning.

Contents

1 Current usage 1.1 Maritime distress signal 2 Winston Churchill and the victory sign 3 Vietnam War and the peace sign 4 UK and the insulting sign 5 Japan and the V sign 6 Former Yugoslavia 7 Discordianism and the Occult 8 Other 9 References 10 External links

Current usage

In the modern world, the gesture has a very confused meaning, as it depends on the culture to which the people using it belong, and what they are trying to signify.

• "Victory" – Straight fingers, palm either way (but only with palm out in the UK!).
• "Peace" – Straight fingers, palm either way (but only with palm out in the UK!). It is often used by anti-war protesters.
• "Insulting" – Straight or very slightly curled fingers, palm toward the signer.
• Signal Two, as in 2 beers – Straight fingers, palm in (but not in the UK if you want two beers!). In some countries, the number two is more commonly signalled by holding up the thumb and index finger.
• "Air quotes" – Curled index and middle fingers, palm away from the signer, invariably used in pairs.
• "Bunny ears" – Curled index and middle fingers, palm away from the signer, usually used singularly. When used jocularly (behind someone's head in a photograph, for example), they can be straight as well as curled. In Italy, Spain and Portugal, raising the two fingers behind someone's head can sign "donkey ears" (a metaphor for stupidity) or the very offensive corna (the horns of a cuckold), suggesting the victim's partner has been unfaithful.

Maritime distress signal

In relation to maritime issues, an internationally recognized signal for distress is a large black V painted on a large orange or yellow sheet.

Winston Churchill and the victory sign

Winston Churchill used a V sign in both versions to symbolize "V for Victory" during World War II. Early on in the war he used palm in (sometimes with a cigar between the fingers)[2] (http://www.number-10.gov.uk/files/images/wc%20outside%20D%20st.jpg). Later in the war he used palm out[3] (http://www.number-10.gov.uk/files/images/WC%20V%20sign1.jpg). 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. He developed the idea from a BBC campaign.

During World War II, Victor de Lavelaye suggested that Belgians, who were chalking up the letters RAF, should add a V for "vrijheid" (Dutch for freedom). V also stands for victoire, the French for victory. This idea was developed by the BBC and on July 20 1941 a campaign was launched with a message from Churchill for occupied Europe. 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, "da da da daaaaa", 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 same morse V rhythm also appears in the bass line for the Clash song London Calling, the title of which is taken from the BBC World Service's station identification.

Vietnam War and the peace sign

U.S. President Richard Nixon used the victory sign to connotate victory, an act which became one of his best-known trademarks.

The victory sign was appropriated by the anti-war protesters as a peace gesture.

UK and the insulting sign

The UK insulting version (performed with the palm inwards), performs a similar social function to "the finger". It is almost certainly unrelated in origin, as the insulting V sign is largely restricted to the UK, Ireland (and possibly commonwealth countries. It is recognised in Australia and New Zealand also), and "the finger" is traceable to Roman times.

An often-repeated legend has it that the insulting version originates from around the time of the Hundred Years War. According to the legend, the sign comes from a French threat to amputate the distinctive calloused bow fingers of captured English archers, as without those fingers they would be unable to draw their bows. Likewise the English might have used it themselves as a gesture of provocation (i.e. "Watch out - I've still got my fingers!"). There is little actual evidence to support these historical explanations, but the legend is certainly part of the cultural context of the sign.

Snopes has dealt at great length with a recent re-working of this myth which also related the phrase "fuck you" to the same origin, which is certainly untrue. [4] (http://www.snopes.com/language/apocryph/pluckyew.htm).

For a time in the UK "a Harvey (Smith)" became a way of describing the insulting version of the V-sign, much as the word of Cambronne is used in France, or "the Trudeau salute" is used to describe the one-fingered salute in Canada. This happened because in 1971 a show-jumper called Harvey Smith was disqualified for making a televised V-sign to the judges after winning the British Show Jumping Derby at Hickstead (Smith's win was reinstated two days later).

In Australia, the gesture is known as "the forks", as in "he gave me the forks", being an obvious reference to the resemblance of a fork by the protruding fingers. It is also occasionally known, as in the UK, as "the two fingers".

Increasingly such terms are losing currency as the one-fingered salute becomes more popular, especially amongst youth. However, a revival in the use of the two fingers has come about largely as the result of the continuing popularity of cult classic TV Series The Young Ones and the similarly counterculturally themed Trainspotting, which both featured characters making iconic use of the two fingers. Thus in an ironic way the forks have secured a niche position as the preferred gesture of a seemingly more sophisticated, underground, punk-driven audience, whilst the one-finger salute has become the rebellious mark of choice for mainstream youth.

Japan and the V sign

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 3rd 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 media. Though the V sign was known of in Japan prior to Lynn's use of it there, she is credited by some Japanese for having popularized its use in amateur photographs.

Another possible origin stems from the post-WWII Allied occupation of Japan. As the gesture was popularized as meaning "for Victory" in the Pacific as well, American and Allied troops used the gesture often during the occupation. It is possible the Japanese later adopted the gesture into their postwar popular culture from this exposure, regardless of whether or not they understood the meaning behind its original use.

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.

Perhaps due to Japanese cultural influence, the V sign in photographs has become popular with young Koreans as well.

Former Yugoslavia

During the Bosnian war, Orthodox Serbo-Bosnian troops raised two fingers in a victory sign (maybe related to Orthodox versions of the sign of the cross), Catholic Bosnian Croats raised three fingers (for Trinity) and Muslims raised one (after the strict monotheism of Islam).

Discordianism and the Occult

Discordians also consider the V sign a holy symbol due to their belief in the Law of Fives. They claim that their use of the salute predates that of the peace movement, although judging by the religious movement being known for mischief, claims they make are usually considered satirical. They also, more facetiously, claim that Churchill's use of the symbol was due to his involvement in the Bavarian Illuminati. Similar conspiracy theories regarding Churchill, the mystical significance of the V-sign, and Aleister Crowley have also independently cropped up. Dubious theories of this nature are also popular among some more extreme conservative Christian groups. See also Peace sign#Criticism

Other

In Unicode, the "V sign, (Victory Hand)" symbol is U+270C (✌).

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 0812826078

External links

• Photos of the V-sign:
  • Insulting V-sign ("Made in London") (http://www.ideaorg.net/skinscribe/images/webold5.jpg)
  • Churchill Outside no. 10 (http://www.number-10.gov.uk/files/images/wc%20outside%20D%20st.jpg)
  • Churchill Victory Sign (http://www.number-10.gov.uk/files/images/WC%20V%20sign1.jpg)
  • Nixon departing office (http://library.educationworld.net/txt18/depart.jpg)
  • An Iraqi woman after casting her vote at a polling station in Tehran, in 2005 (http://watch.windsofchange.net/pics/geh67.300105195350.jpg)
• The V-sign in the news:
  • Guardian June 6, 2002: In pictures the V-sign (http://www.guardian.co.uk/gall/0,8542,972149,00.html)
  • Sky News June 18, 2004: OAP fined £100 for V-sign (http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30100-13131728,00.html)
• Urban Legends Reference Pages: pluck yew (http://www.snopes.com/language/apocryph/pluckyew.htm)
• Desmond Morris book list (http://www.desmond-morris.com/books.php)