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Giving someonethe (middle) finger, also known asflipping the bird[1] orflipping someone off,[1] is anobscene hand gesture. The gesture communicates moderate to extreme contempt, and is roughly equivalent in meaning to "fuck you", "fuck off", "go fuck yourself", "shove it up your ass/arse" or "up yours". It is performed by showing the back of a hand that has only themiddle finger extended upwards, though in some locales, the thumb is extended. Extending the finger is considered a symbol of contempt in several cultures, especially in theWestern world. Many cultures use similar gestures to display their disrespect, although others use it to express pointing without intentional disrespect. The gesture is usually used to express contempt but can also be used humorously or playfully.
The gesture dates back toancient Greece and it was also used inancient Rome. Historically, it represented aphallus. In the early 1800s, it gained increasing recognition as a sign of disrespect and was used by music artists (notably more common among actors, celebrities, athletes and politicians; most still view the gesture as obscene). In more contemporary periods, the bentindex andring fingers on each side of the middle finger have been likened to represent thetesticles.[2]
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.[4] It also represented thephallus, with the fingers next to the middle finger representingtesticles;[5] from its close association, the gesture may have assumedapotropaic potency.[6] In the 1st-centuryMediterranean world, extending thefinger was one of many methods used to divert the ever-present threat of theevil eye.[7]
InGreek, the gesture was known as thekatapygon[8][9] (κατάπυγον, fromkata – κατά, "downwards"[10] andpugē – πυγή, "rump, buttocks"[11]). Inancient Greek comedy, the finger was a gesture ofinsult toward another person, with the termkatapugon also referring to "a male who submits to anal penetration"[12] orkatapygaina to a female.[13] InAristophanes's comedyThe Clouds (423 BC),[14] when the characterSocrates is quizzing his student onpoetic meters, Strepsiades declares that he knows quite well what adactyl is, and gives the finger. The gesture is a visual pun on the two meanings of the Greek worddaktylos, both "finger" and the rhythmic measure composed of a long syllable and two short, like the joints of a finger (— ‿ ‿, which also appears as a visual pun on the penis and testicles in amedieval Latin text[15]). Socrates called one who made the gesture "boorish and stupid."[14][16] The gesture recurs as a form of mockery inPeace, alongside farting in someone's face.[17][18] The usage is later explained in theSuda and included in theAdagia ofErasmus.[19][20] The verb "to play theSiphnian" appears in a fragment of Aristophanes and has a similar meaning.[21][22] The usage is once again explained in theSuda, where it is said to mean "to touch the anus with a finger."[23]Diogenes Laërtius records how theCynic philosopherDiogenes of Sinope directed the gesture at the oratorDemosthenes in 4th-century BCAthens.[3] In theDiscourses of Epictetus, Diogenes's target is instead one of thesophists.[24]
InLatin, the middle finger was thedigitusimpudicus, meaning the "shameless, indecent or offensive finger".[5] In the 1st century AD,Persius had superstitious female relatives concoct a charm with the "infamous finger" (digitusinfamis) and "purifying spit"[27][28] while in theSatyricon, an old woman uses dust, spit and her middle finger to mark the forehead before casting a spell.[29] The poetMartial has a character in good health extend "the indecent one" toward three doctors.[5][30] In anotherepigram, Martial wrote: "Laugh loud, Sextillus, at whoever calls you acinaedus and extend your middle finger."[31][32]Juvenal, throughsynecdoche, has the "middlenail" cocked at threateningFortuna.[33] The indecent finger features again in a mocking context in thePriapeia, a collection of poems relating to the phallic godPriapus.[6] InLate Antiquity, the term "shameless finger" is explained in theEtymologiae ofIsidore of Seville with reference to its frequent use when accusing someone of a "shameful action."[34]
LinguistJesse Sheidlower traces the gesture's development in theUnited States to the 1890s. According to anthropologistDesmond Morris, the gesture probably came to the United States viaItalian immigrants. The first documented appearance of the finger in the United States was in 1886, whenOld Hoss Radbourn, abaseballpitcher for theBoston Beaneaters, was photographed giving it to a member of their rival theNew York Giants.[36]
Use of this gesture in public, while vulgar, is legal, as it is considered expressive communication protected by the First Amendment. In some cases, offended police officers who have had the insulting gesture displayed to them have stopped, ticketed, or arrested people for doing so. However, it is neither a crime, nor even probable cause to stop a person, and a police officer who does so violates "a clearly established constitutional right", and does not have qualified immunity if they do so, which means they can be sued for monetary damages for the unlawful stop and/or arrest.Cruise-Gulyas v. Minard 918 F.3d 494 (2019).[citation needed]
In 2023, in a ruling issued February 24 regarding a Canadian man who was accused of criminal harassment and uttering threats,Quebec court Judge Dennis Galiatsatos wrote, "To be abundantly clear, it is not a crime to give someone the finger", and, "Flipping the proverbial bird is a God-given, Charter-enshrined right that belongs to every red-blooded Canadian. It may not be civil, it may not be polite, it may not be gentlemanly. Nevertheless, it does not trigger criminal liability." The accused man was acquitted.[37]
During a wedding sequence in one ofAlfred Hitchcock's silent films,The Ring (1927), a misunderstanding results in the ringbearer giving the finger to another member of the wedding party, to comedic effect.[citation needed]
In the filmSpeedy (1928),Harold Lloyd's character gives himself the finger into a distorting mirror atLuna Park, about 25 minutes into the film.[38]
The gesture has been involved in political events. During theUSS 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, undermining theNorth Koreans' use of the images in their 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 theshaka. When the guards finally figured things out, the crewmembers were subjected to extremely severe beatings.[39]Abbie Hoffman used the gesture at the1968 Democratic National Convention.[4]Ronald Reagan, while serving as theGovernor of California, gave the middle finger tocounterculture protesters inBerkeley, California.[4]Nelson Rockefeller, then theVice President of the United States, directed the gesture to hecklers at a 1976 campaign stop nearBinghamton, New York, leading it to be called the "Rockefeller gesture".[4] In 1982,Pierre Trudeau, then thePrime Minister of Canada, gave the finger to protesters inSalmon Arm, British Columbia,[40] earning the incident the nickname the "Salmon Arm salute".[41] The gesture itself has also been nicknamed the "Trudeau salute".[42] Former presidentGeorge 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."[43]Anthony Weiner gave the finger to reporters after leaving his election headquarters the night he lost the2013 primary election forMayor of New York City.[44] During the campaign for the2013 German federal election, the leading candidate of theSocial Democratic Party of Germany,Peer Steinbrück controversially gave the finger in a photo interview withSüddeutsche Zeitung'sMagazin supplement.[45]
DuringWorld War II, the91st Bombardment Group of theUnited 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)").[46] 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.[47] In 2005 during thewar in Iraq,Gunnery Sergeant Michael Burghardt gained prominence when theOmaha World-Herald published a photo of Burghardt making the gesture towards Iraqi insurgents he believed to be watching after animprovised explosive device failed to kill him.[48]
The middle finger has been involved in judicial hearings. Anappellate court inHartford, 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.[49] The case was appealed to theConnecticut Supreme Court,[50] which upheld the decision.[51] In March 2006, a federal lawsuit was filed regarding the free speech issue.[52]
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.[53] A Pakistani man was deported by the United Arab Emirates for the gesture, which violates indecency codes.[54]
People have given the finger as a method ofpolitical protest. At a concert,Ricky Martin gave a picture ofGeorge W. Bush the finger to protest the War in Iraq.[55] Serbian protesters gave the finger to the Russian embassy regarding their support ofSlobodan Milošević.[56] ArtistAi Weiwei has used the finger in photographs and sculptures as a political statement.[57] As a political message to the Czech PresidentMiloš Zeman, Czech artistDavid Černý floated an outsize, purple statue of a hand on the River Vltava in Prague; its middle finger extended towards Prague Castle, the Presidential seat.[58] Černý had also mounted a middle finger on a pink former Soviet tank from theMonument to Soviet Tank Crews in 1991.[59] In 2011–2012, the pink tank with the finger was displayed again on a barge on the Vltava.[citation needed]
In 2017Juli Briskman gave the finger to the motorcade ofDonald Trump as it drove past her while bicycling, and a photograph that wentviral forced her to resign from her job as a marketing executive. However, the notoriety may have been favorable in her2019 election to theboard of supervisors forLoudoun County, Virginia.[60]
On February 24, 2022, the first day of theRussian invasion of Ukraine, the Russian missile cruiserMoskva[61] attackedSnake Island as part of the2022 Snake Island campaign. TheUkrainian border guard Roman Hrybov's last communication with the warship was "Russian warship, go fuck yourself". This was memorialized on a set of Ukrainian commemorativepostage stamps on April 12[62][63] with the text "Russian warship, fuck you!" and a drawing of a Ukrainian soldier presenting the middle finger to the Russian cruiser.[64]
The use of the middle finger has become pervasive in popular culture. The bandCobra Starship released a song called "Middle Finger", and released amusic video that showed people giving the finger.[65] Italian artistMaurizio Cattelan installed a marble statue of a middle finger measuring 11 metres (36 ft), located directly in front of theMilan Stock Exchange.[66] A now-famous photograph ofJohnny Cash shows him giving the middle finger to a photographer during a 1969 concert atSan Quentin State Prison, released asAt San Quentin.[67] However, the photo remained fairly obscure until 1998, when producerRick Rubin made it the centerpiece of an ad inBillboard criticizing country radio for not giving airplay to Cash'sGrammy-winning albumUnchained.Cameron Diaz made the gesture during a photo shoot forEsquire.[68]Harold Lloyd shot the finger to his own reflection in aConey Island funhouse after getting paint on his suit inSpeedy, his final silent feature, from 1928.[38]
Athletes, includingStefan Effenberg,Ron Artest,Luis Suárez,Virat Kohli,Juan Pablo Montoya,Iván Rodríguez,Danny Graves,Jack McDowell,Natasha Zvereva,Josh Smith,Bryan Cox, andJohnny Manziel have been suspended or fined for making the gesture.[5][68][69][70][71][72][73]José Paniagua was released by theChicago White Sox after giving the middle finger to anumpire; he never played in the majors again.[69] Baseball executiveChub Feeney once resigned after giving the finger to fans on Fan Appreciation Night.[69][74]Bud Adams, owner of theNational Football League'sTennessee Titans, was fined US$250,000 for giving both middle fingers to the fans of theBuffalo Bills during a game.[75][76] Professional wrestlerStone Cold Steve Austin is also famous for flashing one or both middle fingers as part of his gimmick. Hockey starJaromír Jágr made the gesture several times following goals in the early 1990s.[77]
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TheNME Awards, an annual music awards show in the UK, uses an extended middle finger design in the trophy handed out to the winners.[78] Many musical artists, includingMadonna,Lady Gaga,Eminem,Ariana Grande,Katy Perry, andAdele have publicly made the gesture.[79][80][81]Britney Spears and Iggy Azalea have given the gesture towards members of thepaparazzi, but had to apologize when fans interpreted the gesture as directed at them.[5]M.I.A. gave the gesture during theSuper Bowl XLVIHalftime Show.[5][82] TheNational Football League,NBC, and M.I.A. apologized.[5][83] The CD itself forKid Rock's albumDevil Without a Cause is a picture of his raised middle finger. On the cover ofMoby Grape's first album,Moby Grape, band memberDon 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.[84]
The finger is included inUnicode asU+1F595 🖕REVERSED HAND WITH MIDDLE FINGER EXTENDED,[85] part of theMiscellaneous Symbols and Pictographs block.
The media sometimes refers to the gesture as being mistaken for an indication of "we're number one", typically indicated with a raisedindex finger.[74][86][87] Sometimes, though, the "mistake" is actually an intentionaleuphemism meant to indirectly convey the gesture in a medium where a direct description would be inappropriate. For example,Don Meredith famously noted in a 1972Monday Night Football game describing the finger of a dejected Houston Oilers fan: "He thinks they're number one in the nation."[88]Ira Robbins, a law professor, believes the finger is no longer an obscene gesture.[5]PsychologistDavid Walsh, founder of theNational 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".[68]
Google Street View's picture of the area around theWisconsin Governor's Mansion, taken in 2011 during the tenure ofScott Walker, shows a jogger giving the finger in the direction of the mansion.[89]
In 2018, a large wooden sculpture of a hand giving the middle finger, titledThe Finger, was erected inWestford, Vermont by local Ted Pelkey as a form of protest against the local development review board for denying him a building permit.[90][91] WhileWCAX described the public reaction toThe Finger as "mixed",[92]The Boston Globe reported Westfield residents being mostly amused by the sculpture and several proposing capitalizing on its popularity.[93] Pelkey initially said he would retireThe Finger to the garage or his living room[94] and replace it with apeace sign if he received his permit, but later said the sculpture was "awesome" and "a statement made to our rights as Americans" and he would not remove it.[95]
In theUnited Kingdom,Ireland,Australia andNew Zealand, theV sign, "two-fingered salute" or "the fingers", when given with back of the hand towards the recipient, serves a similar purpose. According to aRoyal Shakespeare Company synopsis of the playHenry V, a "two-fingered salute" appeared in theMacclesfield Psalter ofc. 1330 (in theFitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge), "being made by a glove in the psalter's marginalia".George H. W. Bush, formerPresident of the United States, accidentally made the gesture while on a diplomatic trip to Australia.[96]
In countries where Spanish, Portuguese or French are spoken, and especially inSpain,Portugal,Brazil andFrance, the gesture involving raising a fist and slapping the biceps on the same arm as the fist used, sometimes called thebras d'honneur (French),corte de mangas (Spanish),manguito (Portugal),dar uma banana (Brazil), or Iberian slap, is equivalent to the finger.[citation needed]
More commonly in Turkish or Slavic regions, thefig sign (also known asnah orshish) serves as the equivalent to the finger, meaning "you won't get it" or "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 inIndonesia,Turkey andChina.[97]
InJapanese Sign Language, this same gesture (with all fingers curled inward except the middle one) means the following: elder brother (hand moving up), younger brother (hand moving down), and siblings in general (one hand moving up, one moving down).[98][99] This comes from a childish name of the middle finger,o-nii-san-yubi ("big-brother finger"), as opposed too-tō-san-yubi ("dad finger", the thumb),o-kā-san-yubi ("mom finger", the index),o-nee-san-yubi ("big-sister finger", the ring finger) andaka-chan-yubi ("baby finger", the pinky).[100] The equivalent words for sisters are expressed with the pinky. In theJapanese manual syllabary, the middle finger (with the front of the hand facing forward) stands for the kanaせ (which, incidentally, is also anarchaic word for "brother").[citation needed]
The finger became an integral part of our anti-propaganda campaign. Any time a camera appeared, so did the fingers.
Doug Gibson, Southern California area flight leader, is presented with two mementoes in recognition of his outstanding leadership-an engraved mug and a carved wooden replica of the famed 'Rigid Digit.'
