# Where did those male/female symbols come from? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 6, 2001, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-those-male-female-symbols-come-from/67775 "2001-06-06T06:30:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![sethdallob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@sethdallob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sethdallob)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2001, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-those-male-female-symbols-come-from/67775/1 "2001-06-06T06:30:52Z")
I’m talking about the circle with the “t” on the bottom of it representing woman and the circle with the arrow pointing to about 2 o’ clock representing men. Where did these come from (and what are their proper names)? ---
**Author:** ![Teach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/47e85d/32.png) [@Teach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teach)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2001, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-those-male-female-symbols-come-from/67775/2 "2001-06-06T06:46:19Z")
They are the astrological symbols for Mars and Venus. ---
**Author:** ![Bob\_Scene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Bob\_Scene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bob_Scene)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2001, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-those-male-female-symbols-come-from/67775/3 "2001-06-06T06:52:57Z")
The circle with the cross on the bottom of it, according to what I learned in college, is Venus’s hand mirror. The male symbol is supposed to be Mars’s spear and shield. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2001, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-those-male-female-symbols-come-from/67775/4 "2001-06-06T12:43:46Z")
“Spear and shield” being a thinly veiled symbolism, of course. And the nice round hand mirror, ditto. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2001, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-those-male-female-symbols-come-from/67775/5 "2001-06-06T12:53:41Z")
FWIW, the male symbol is also the symbol for iron. It’s used on Volvos. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2001, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-those-male-female-symbols-come-from/67775/6 "2001-06-06T15:23:09Z")
Yes, as iron was used for weapons of war. Venus’ equivalent is copper, since mirrors used to be made of copper, and since copper was found in abundance on Cyprus (=_kupros_), which was regarded as sacred to Aphrodite. ---
**Author:** ![bughunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@bughunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bughunter)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2001, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-those-male-female-symbols-come-from/67775/7 "2001-06-06T18:15:09Z")
I’ve seen several anthropology texts that try to explain the anatomical origin of these symbols. The male is the easiest to accept, looking distinctly like an erect penis, although one must accept that it has been distorted over the years, perhaps in an attempt to reverse-engineer the “shield and spear” explanation. (Either that, or elephantitis of the testes was considered a macho thing in ancient Greece.) More difficult is the female symbol. Most texts I’ve seen suggest that the circle represents the vagina and the cross represents the anus. One author even suggested that the symbol may even contain subliminal instructions for those just discovering intercourse: the circle is an open, inviting form, while the cross represents a discouraging, closed barrier. (In other words - this hole, dummy - not that one!) Sometimes I think anthropologists have too much time on their hands. I mean, have you ever heard of an “anthropological crisis?” ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2001, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-those-male-female-symbols-come-from/67775/8 "2001-06-06T22:30:04Z")
> [@](#): > > I mean, have you ever heard of an “anthropological crisis?” Besides Kennewick Man? ---
**Author:** ![bughunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@bughunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bughunter)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2001, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-those-male-female-symbols-come-from/67775/9 "2001-06-07T00:05:12Z")
Aha, well I’m inclined to view the discovery of a caucasian man’s remains where one would expect to find only North American aboriginals as an enigma more than a crisis. But then, if you’re an anthropologist, perhaps your crises are my enigmas. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2001, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-those-male-female-symbols-come-from/67775/10 "2001-06-07T01:18:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Johnny L.A. \* > \*\*FWIW, the male symbol is also the symbol for iron. It’s used on Volvos. > > \*\* … and the female one is used on vulvas 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2001, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-those-male-female-symbols-come-from/67775/11 "2001-06-07T02:49:09Z")
[sub]trying to type while giggling[/sub] **Bravo, Manduck, bravo!!** [sub]still giggling[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2001, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-those-male-female-symbols-come-from/67775/12 "2001-06-07T05:31:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by matt\_mcl \* > \*\*…since copper was found in abundance on Cyprus (=_kupros_), which was regarded as sacred to Aphrodite. \*\* Because Cyprus was the island that Aphrodite was born/created out of sea foam.