I’m working on a small graphic design piece for a charitable cause. The illustration would be a closed hand with its extended pinky finger making a motion like a checkmark. I’m wondering if moving a pinky finger in such a manner might have some cultural meaning I’m unaware of it.
For example, I’ve checked the American Sign Language alphabet and know that an extended pinky can be a letter “I” or “J”, but I don’t know if a moving pinky might suggest a particular word. Maybe a flying pinky has a known meaning in some culture or sub-culture. Maybe comedians or influencers make pinky checkmarks to indicate that they’ve scored some type of point?
In the U.S. if you mime drinking from a cup while extending your pinky it implies excessive refinement or pretension. That shouldn’t apply to my graphic, but is there some other meaning that might come into play?
Extended pinky is an insult indicating a small penis. I doubt that this connotation would come into play here unless the charitable cause is free psychological counseling for men with small penises - although I guess then it actually makes sense as “small penis okay”!
Pinky finger making a checkmark does strike me as an odd gesture, but maybe the context makes it work.
I immediately thoughts of the sign language J, as the motion sounds similar. I could drawing a J tail first with the pinky and moving fist looking like a checkmark. Though the pinky finger itself doesn’t move independently in that sign, it’s possible that might be a bit of shorthand (pun noted).
“The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,
Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.”
In Japan, the extended pinkie is a sign meaning “girlfriend,” often the mistress of a married man. If any of your marketing is going to Japan, that could be awkward.
I think usually you have the lightly closed fist with the pinkie out, with the hand rotated so the pinkie is closer to your body. It’s usually a confidential sort of gesture, just to show you know (or just as a question), not a public accusation. At least that’s the way I’ve seen it used.
I guess I meant the context more than the mechanics of the hand. Like a wink?
“Where’s Harold? He said he would come by to watch the game with us.” pinkie
“Oh, that dog.”
