SV: [USA-L News] British Deaf Association in controversial poster drive

[Greftegreff, Irene]

The international fingerspelling alphabet, of the WDF, is largely modeled on
the ASL one, but it has different handshapes for T, N and M. It is no
coincidence, because several people objected to the perceived obscenity of
protruding thumbtips.

Irene Greftegreff

> -----Opprinnelig melding-----
> Fra:  Mark Mandel [SMTP:Mark_Mandel at DRAGONSYS.COM]
> Sendt:        18. oktober 2000 17:56
> Til:  SLLING-L at ADMIN.HUMBERC.ON.CA
> Emne: Re: [USA-L News] British Deaf Association in controversial
> posterdrive
>
> That handshape, or the corresponding one with two fingers (i.e., the thumb
> protruding between the middle and ring fingers of the closed fist), is
> called the "fig" and was also considered an insult in (16th-century?)
> England. I have seen it explained, I don't know how reliable as an icon of
> the female genitalia. That could certainly explain its appearance in
> far-flung populations.
>
> -- Mark A.