Obscene gesture

An obscene gesture is a movement or position of the body, especially of the hands or arms, that is considered exceedingly offensive or vulgar in some particular cultures. Such gestures are often sexually suggestive.

Although "the finger" has been called "the universal sign of disrespect", it is not truly universal. For example, in Japanese Sign Language, when the palm is facing out, it is recognized as the character せ ("se"). Many other gestures are used in addition to, or in lieu of, the finger in various parts of the world to express the same sentiment. In some parts of the world, "the finger" does not have any meaning at all.

In India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka the social circles exposed to the western cultures use the middle finger gesture in the same sense that it is used in those cultures. The same is true for most South Asian countries.

In Portugal this gesture is also called by "Pirete".

In the Commonwealth of Nations countries (except Canada), the V sign as an insult (the middle and index fingers raised, and given with back of the hand towards the recipient) serves a similar purpose to The finger. The V sign with palm faced outwards is a sign of peace.

In Italy, France, the Iberian peninsula, and countries where Spanish, Portuguese, or French are spoken, such as some parts of Latin America, a gesture called the Bras d'honneur (banana in Brazil) is used as an insult equivalent to the finger. The gesture involves raising a fist and slapping the biceps on the same arm as the fist used, sometimes called the Iberian slap or Iberian finger (In Portugal it is called a "Manguito"). It is sometimes known as the "Italian salute" in the United States due to its usage among Italian immigrants and Italian-Americans. In Italy itself, the gesture is usually referred to as the gesto dell'ombrello, or the "umbrella gesture." Poland and countries under the influence of East Slavic culture (Russia, Belarus, Ukraine) also use the Bras d'honneur as equivalent to the finger. In Guatemala, a gesture equivalent to "the finger" is made by "throwing the hand" forward, digits wide spread, thumb up, pinky down, palm to the left if action is made with right hand (conversely for left hand). This is similar in orientation to the way one would extend for a friendly hand shake, except the arm-wrist-finger assembly is straight, rigid and fully extended in the direction of the target individual.

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