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. The Cynic philosopher Diogenes, pictured by 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 of the Athenians". The index finger and ring finger besides the middle finger in more contemporary periods has been likened to represent the testes. 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). Historically, it represented the phallus. The gesture dates back to ancient Greece and it was also used in ancient Rome.
The gesture is usually used to express contempt but can also be used humorously or playfully. Many cultures use similar gestures to display their disrespect, although others use it to express pointing without intentional disrespect. Extending the finger is considered a symbol of contempt in several cultures, especially in the Western world. It is performed by showing the back of a hand that has only the middle finger extended upwards, though in some locales, the thumb is extended. The gesture communicates moderate to extreme contempt, and is roughly equivalent in meaning to "fuck me", "fuck you", "shove it up your ass/arse", "up yours" or "go fuck yourself". In Western culture, " the finger", or the middle finger (as in giving someone the ( middle) finger, the bird or flipping someone off) is an obscene hand gesture.
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