The Forums › Forums › Tools, Techniques & Treatments › so how many of you…. › Re: so how many of you….
No, despite the near-total cultural dominance of the world’s entertainment industries by Hollywood, “the finger” isn’t quite universal.
The sentiment expressed with “the finger” in North America, is expressed with “the V-sign” (AKA “the forks”) in the United Kingdom and many of its former colonies. Unlike the “V-for-victory” (AKA “the peace sign”), which is done with the palm towards the recipient, the rude gesture is done with the opisthinar (the BACK of the hand) facing the recipient, often with a slight upward thrust—though the thrust is optional.
This subtle difference is very important, as George Bush Sr. discovered on an official visit to Australia, when he gave what he THOUGHT was the Victory sign to the crowds lining the motorcade route. It caused a minor international kerfuffle, and gave those of us who knew the difference, a damn good laugh when we saw the photographs in the newspaper. It also gave the writers of the first Mr. Bean movie the idea for the scenes of Bean driving through L.A., smiling and giving the finger (which he thinks is a gesture of friendship) to the people he passes.
As most North Americans still don’t recognize the rudeness of the gesture, I make a point of using it whenever I’m gesturing to indicate the number 2. I used it a lot when I was in the audience of “Let’s Make a Deal”, and we were telling the contestants which box or curtain they should choose. (Ain’t I a stinker?)
The origins of “the V-sign” may have been covered in an episode of “History Bites”. Or if not, they should have been…
The gesture has its origins in the Battle of Agincourt, when the French soldiers bragged that not only would they defeat the English soldiers (most of whom were armed with longbows), but they’d cut off the archers’ shooting fingers (the index & middle fingers) as trophies. Though the English were outnumbered, they managed to soundly defeat the French, and taunted them by raising their index & middle fingers at them, just to rub it in. “Look! We still have our fingers!”
I wonder if there’s much of a market for people who can explain the cultural differences of rim-shots and rude gestures, as used in different countries…
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