Similar Gestures
In the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, the V sign, when given with back of the hand towards the recipient, serves a similar purpose. George H. W. Bush, President of the United States, accidentally made the gesture while on a diplomatic trip to Australia. In countries where Spanish, Portuguese, or French are spoken, and especially on the Iberian peninsula and in Latin America, a gesture called the bras d'honneur involving raising a fist and slapping the biceps on the same arm as the fist used, sometimes called the Iberian slap or Iberian finger, is equivalent to the finger. Italy, Poland, and countries under the influence of Russian culture, such as Russia, Belarus, and the Ukraine, also see the bras d'honneur as equivalent to the finger.
In former Persia, mainly Iran and Iraq, a gesture involving exposing only the thumb in a vertical orientation – a thumbs up – is used in lieu of the finger to express roughly the same sentiment. In Latin America, the "A-ok" gesture, where the index finger and thumb form a closed circle, is offensive. Richard Nixon made this gesture while in a Latin American country in the 1950s.
In some African and Caribbean countries, a similarly obscene gesture is extending all five digits with the palm facing forward, meaning "you have five fathers", thus calling someone a bastard. This is similar to a gesture known in Greece as the Moutza, where the five fingers are spread wide and the palm is pushed towards the recipient. More commonly in Russian-influenced areas, the fig sign (also known as shish) serves as the equivalent to the finger. 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 in Indonesia, Turkey and China.
Read more about this topic: Finger (gesture)
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