Gender symbol

Gender symbol

A gender symbol is a symbol used to denote the sex of a life form or to characterize an agent by gender.

The two standard gender symbols denoting male ♂ and female ♀ are derived from astrological symbols, denoting the classical planets Mars and Venus, respectively. These symbols have been in use since the Renaissance[1] also denoting elements in alchemy, specifically the metals iron and copper.

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.[2]

♂ From the symbol of Mars (U+2642 ♂). The symbol for a male organism or man.
♀ From the symbol of Venus (U+2640 ♀). The symbol for a female organism or woman.

Contents

LGBT Culture

Main article: LGBT symbols

Numerous variations of gender symbols have been developed in the context of "LGBT" (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) culture since the 1990s. Some of these symbols have been adopted into Unicode beginning with version 4.1 (2005).

Mercury symbol.svg From the symbol of Mercury (U+263F ☿). This symbol is used to indicate a virgin female (for example, in genetic analysis).
⚥ From the female and male symbols (U+26A5 ⚥). Intersexual or transgender.
Gendersign.svg 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. This is in fact the shape of the original (medieval) "Venus" symbol (depicting a hand mirror), the additional horizontal bar being of modern date.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ continuing medieval (11th century) symbols known from Byzantine manuscripts, possibly with precedents in horoscopic papyri of Late Antiquity (late 4th century).
  2. ^ 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


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