The middle finger. The one-finger salute. The bird. It’s a road rage go-to, an edgy photo favorite, and an anti-establishment music video staple. You’ve been its target plenty of times. You’ve probably flashed it at least once or twice. Maybe you’re even a finger aficionado. But where did the gesture come from? And why does the ring finger enjoy wedding-anointed glory while we force the stronger, more dexterous middle finger to dish out hatred and angst?
The answer is more complex than you might think. From its dirty origins in ancient societies to its surprising utility in modern politics and war, this is the history of the middle finger.
The History of the Middle Finger from Ancient Greece
The history of the middle finger begins in Ancient Greece, where the first documented evidence of flipping the bird emerges. As early as the fifth century B.C.E., Greek society employed the gesture as a symbol of obscenity, ridicule, and madness. In Aristophanes’ satirical comedy The Clouds, the protagonist—a famously ridiculous character named Strepsiades—misinterprets one of Socrates’ instructions and shows him his middle finger. Socrates responds by calling Strepsiades “boorish and stupid.”
Less than a century later, the famous Cynic philosopher Diogenes of Sinope threw up his middle finger after meeting the Athenian politician Demosthenes in a tavern. As he brandished the bird, Diogenes called Demosthenes “the demagogue of Athens.” Diogenes also reportedly cautioned that “if you go along with your middle finger stretched out, some one will think you mad, but, if it’s the little finger, he will not think so.” Thanks for the warning, pal.
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What Drew the Greeks to the Middle Finger in Particular?
Alright, so flipping the bird has at least a multi-millennium history. But that still doesn’t tell us why the Greeks chose the middle finger over any of the other fingers (or over any other gesture, for that matter).
According to Windsor University Classical Civilizations Professor Max Nelson, the Greeks “probably relied on the use of the middle finger to represent an erect penis.” In fact, the symbol’s visual similarity to male genitalia is probably one of the primary reasons for its staying power. “The middle finger is the penis and the curled fingers on either side are the testicles,” concurs anthropologist Desmond Morris in a 2012 interview with the BBC. “It’s one of the most ancient insult gestures known” and a semi-universal representation of indecency and mockery.
History of the Middle Finger from Ancient Rome — ‘Digitus Impudicus’
The history of the middle finger moved from one pillar of Western civilization to the next…
Like much of classical Greek culture, the Romans adopted and refined the middle finger. They even named it the digitus impudicus, which is Latin for ‘indecent finger.’
In the Roman world, the gesture seems to have conveyed a threat of figurative penetration or general subjugation. For example, historians believe the cruel and depraved first-century emperor Caligula forced his subjects to kiss his middle finger as a representation of his penis.
Around this time, Roman poet Martial mockingly suggested that a man named Sextillus use the finger to counter an insult. Sextillus had been accused of being “a pathic”—an ancient term that basically meant a “bottom” in LGBT+ culture—and Martial implied that the gesture could flip the insult back on the accuser. Therefore, the digitus impudicus likely also served as an accusation of femininity or submissiveness.
The History of the Middle Finger in the Middle Ages and Its Temporary Decline
The history of the middle finger hit a peak during the gesture’s roughly 1,000-year reign as a prominent cultural symbol in the Greco-Roman world. The use of the finger, however, underwent a steep decline during the Middle Ages.
The ancient Greeks and Romans enjoyed periods of intense sexual and expressive freedom. The Catholic Church, on the other hand, was far more concerned with sexual decency and modesty. This likely impeded the middle finger’s continued use, since it was viewed as a sexual gesture.
The Origins of the Modern One-Finger Salute
Because of its long hiatus during the Middle Ages, it’s difficult to say whether the modern middle finger is a direct cultural descendant of the Greco-Roman gesture. Instead, it’s far more likely that the finger we know today was a pragmatic reinvention from the Middle Ages or later. As zoologist and expert in human behavior Desmond Morris writes:
With the case of the thumbs up or the raised middle finger, the gestures are taking the place of verbal communication. They’re not ancient symbols but cultural gestures that vary from country to country.
Italian immigrants probably brought the modern middle finger across the Atlantic sometime in the 1800s. Its first documented use in the Americas came in 1886, when Boston Beaneaters pitcher Charlie “Old Hoss” Radbourn flipped the bird in a team photo. Radbourn went on to make the gesture something of a personal trademark. An 1887 baseball card featuring the pitcher giving the middle finger even sold for nearly $10,000 in 2017.
When did we Start ‘Flipping the Bird?’
Our modern naming schemes for this obscene gesture came late in the history of the middle finger. It wasn’t until the 1960s that the Western world began referring to the act of raising the finger as ‘flipping the bird.’
The term may come from a long English tradition of associating bird sounds with jeering and dissatisfaction. Since receiving this label, the gesture has become so prolific in America that Morris claims it’s now an automatic response for some of us. Basically, we don’t even think about flipping each other off—we just do it.
A More Modern History of the Middle Finger — Famous Flip-Offs
Many of our most memorable cultural and political scandals reflect the modern history of the middle finger. In 2004, Canadian MP Deepak Obhrai flipped off a member of a rival political party. Later, British singer M.I.A. flashed it during the 2012 Super Bowl halftime show in front of 100 million viewers. More recently, sex scandal–plagued politician Anthony Weiner flipped the bird at a reporter after his mayoral concession speech in 2013.
But perhaps the cleverest and most defiant use of the middle finger comes from Cold War–era North Korea.
In January 1968, North Korean patrols captured the USS Pueblo 16 miles off the Korean coast and imprisoned its crew. North Korean officials claimed the Pueblo had strayed beyond international waters, breaching the country’s 12-mile coastal boundary. They then tried to use coerced interviews and photo ops to convince the world they were treating the captured sailors humanely.
The Pueblo’s crew, however, devised an ingenious way to thwart this plan.
According to History, the Americans subtly stuck out their middle fingers during the forced photo shoots. The Koreans had no idea what the finger meant, and initially, the sailors were able to convince them that it was just the “Hawaiian good-luck sign.”
The Korean officers eventually realized what the Americans had done and beat the crew for a week. After 11 months of confinement, negotiations between the American and North Korean governments reached a settlement, and the North Koreans set the sailors free.
The History of the Middle Finger Wrapped Up — Long Live the ‘Bird’
The middle finger is something we usually employ thoughtlessly in a heated moment or while jesting. It’s part of our common lexicon, flowing from us as easily as spoken language—and the middle finger’s history shows this has pretty much always been the case.
But the next time you see the finger flung at you on the highway or during an animated argument, remember: it could have been much worse. You could have knelt on the steps of an ancient palace, compelled to kiss the digitus impudicus of a madman.
For more fun with fingers, learn how our digits evolved in the first place!
