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{{Short description|Symbols of gender, sex, or sexuality}}
{{Redirect2|♀|♂|their use for Venus and Mars|Planet symbols|their use for copper and iron|Alchemical symbol}}{{distinguish|Sex symbol}}
[[file:SBB Giruno by Stadler (46959878215).jpg|thumb|Gender symbols on a public toilet in Switzerland|alt=Image shows male and female symbols incised deeply]]
A '''gender symbol''' is a [[pictogram]] or [[glyph]] used to represent [[sexual differentiation|sex]] and [[gender]], for example in biology and medicine, in [[genealogy]], or in the sociological fields of [[gender politics]], [[LGBT|LGBT subculture]] and [[identity politics]].

In his books {{lang|la|[[Mantissa Plantarum]]}} (1767) and {{lang|la|[[Mantissa Plantarum Altera]]}} (1771), [[Carl Linnaeus]] regularly used the [[planetary symbol]]s of Mars, Venus and Mercury{{snd}}{{char|♂}}, {{char|♀}}, {{char|☿}}{{snd}}for male, female and hermaphroditic ([[Perfect flower|perfect]]) flowers, respectively.<ref name= Stearn>{{cite journal|last=Stearn|first=William T.|s2cid=87030547|title=The Origin of the Male and Female Symbols of Biology|journal=Taxon|date=May 1962 |volume=11 |issue=4 |pages=109–113 |jstor=1217734 |doi=10.2307/1217734 }}</ref> Botanists now use {{char|⚥}} for the last.<ref>Niki Simpson, [https://academic.oup.com/botlinnean/article/162/2/117/2418432  Botanical symbols: a new symbol set for new images], ''Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society'', Volume 162, Issue 2, February 2010, Pages 117–129</ref>

In genealogy, including kinship in anthropology and pedigrees in animal husbandry, the geometric shapes {{char|△}} or {{char|□}} are used for male and {{char|○}} for female. These are also used on [[public toilet]]s in some countries. 

The modern international [[pictogram]]s used to indicate male and female public toilets, {{char|🚹&#xFE0E;}} and {{char|🚺&#xFE0E;}}, became widely used in the 1960s and 1970s. They are sometimes abstracted to {{char|▽}} for male and {{char|△}} for female.<ref name=BBC>{{cite web |title=The genius behind the stick figure toilet signs |url=http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140911-the-genius-of-toilet-signs |first=Jonathan |last=Glancey |date=11 September 2014 |website=BBC Future |quote=In Poland, meanwhile, you can come across lavatories indicating 'gents' with a triangle and 'ladies' with a circle, while in Lithuania men are represented by an inverted pyramid and women by a pyramid standing the right way up. [...] One of the best early examples of intuitive global signs for public lavatories was that created for British Rail in the mid-1960s. [...] In the 1970s, the British example was developed on a more comprehensive basis in the United States. In 1974, the US Department of Transportation commissioned the American Institute of Graphic Arts to create a set of pictograms to be used throughout public transport networks whether road, rail, air or sea.}}</ref>

==Biology and medicine==
{{infobox symbol|mark={{IPA|♂ ♀ ⚥<br />△ □ ○}}
|unicode={{plainlist|
*{{unichar|2642|male sign}}
*{{unichar|2640|female sign}}
*{{unichar|26A5|male and female sign}}
*{{unichar|25B3|thite up-pointing triangle}}
*{{unichar|25A1|white square}}
*{{unichar|25CB|white circle}}
}}
|see also = 
|different from = 
}}
The three standard sex symbols in biology are male {{char|♂}}, female {{char|♀}} and hermaphroditic {{char|⚥}}; originally the symbol for Mercury, {{char|☿}}, was used for the last. These symbols were first used by [[Carl Linnaeus]] in 1751 to denote whether flowers were male ([[stamens]] only), female ([[pistil]] only) or [[perfect flower]]s with both pistils and stamens.<ref name= Stearn/> (Most flowering and conifer plant species are hermaphroditic and either bear flowers/cones that themselves are hermaphroditic, or bear both male and female flowers/cones on the same plant.) These symbols are now ubiquitous in biology and medicine to indicate the sex of an individual, for example of a patient.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Han |first1=Zhigang | last2=Leung |first2=Tommy W. C. |last3=Zhao |first3=Jinkou |last4=Wang |first4=Ming |last5=Fan |first5=Lirui |last6=Li |first6=Kai |last7=Pang |first7=Xinli |last8=Liang |first8=Zhenbo |last9=Lim |first9=Wilina W. L. |last10=Xu |first10=Huifang |display-authors=1 |date=25 September 2009 |title=A HIV-1 heterosexual transmission chain in Guangzhou, China: a molecular epidemiological study |journal=Virology Journal |publisher=BioMed Central |volume=6 |issue=148 |pages=Figure 1 |doi=10.1186/1743-422X-6-148 |pmid=19778458 |pmc=2761389 |quote=(Mars male gender symbol) indicates male; (female Venus gender symbol) indicates female |doi-access=free }}</ref>{{efn|In the biological sense of the word, there are no human (or mammalian) hermaphrodites, but 'hermaphodite' has long been used for ambisexual people who are now more commonly labeled [[intersex]].<ref>Alice Domurat Dreger (1998) ''Hermaphrodites and the Medical Invention of Sex''</ref>}}

==Genealogy==
[[File:Eg-filiation.svg|thumb|upright|Minimal kinship chart: a male and female producing male and female offspring]]
[[Kinship terminology|Kinship charts]] use a triangle {{char|△}} for male and circle {{char|○}} for female.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://socialsci.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Anthropology/Cultural_Anthropology/Cultural_Anthropology_(Evans)/08%3A_Kinship/8.01%3A_Kinship_Diagrams|title=8.1: Kinship Diagrams |website=socialsci.libretexts.org |author=Lumen Learning |access-date=2024-12-08}}</ref> [[Pedigree chart]]s published in scientific papers use an earlier anthropological convention of a square {{char|□}} for male and a circle {{char|○}} for female.<ref name="Schott">{{cite journal |last=Schott |first=G D |date=24 Dec 2005 |title=Sex symbols ancient and modern: their origins and iconography on the pedigree |journal=BMJ |publisher=British Medical Journal |volume=331 |issue=7531 |pages=1509–1510 |doi=10.1136/bmj.331.7531.1509 |pmid=16373733 |pmc=1322246}}</ref>

Before a shape distinction was adopted, all individuals had been represented by a circle in Morgan's 1871 ''System of Consanguinity and Affinity of Human Family'', where gender is encoded in the abbreviations for the kin relation (e.g. M for 'mother' and F for 'father').<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/systemsofconsang00morgrich|title=Systems of consanguinity and affinity of the human family|last=Morgan|first=Lewis Henry|date=1870|publisher=[Washington, Smithsonian Institution|others=University of California Libraries}}</ref> [[W. H. R. Rivers]] distinguished gender in the words of the language being recorded by writing male kinship terms in all capitals and female kinship terms with normal capitalization. That convention was quite influential for a time, and his convention of prioritizing male kin by placing them to the left and females to the right continues to this day though there have been exceptions, such as [[Margaret Mead]], who placed females to the left.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://histanthro.org/clio/visual-kinship/|title=Visual Kinship|last=Wilson|first=Ara|date=2018-07-24|website=History of Anthropology Review|language=en|access-date=2019-12-02}}</ref>

==Public toilets==
{{anchor|Toilets}}
{{Main article|Public toilet#Society and culture|Unisex public toilet}}

The modern gender symbols used for [[public toilet]]s, {{char|🚹&#xFE0E;}} for male and {{char|🚺&#xFE0E;}} for female, are pictograms created for the [[British Rail]] system in the mid-1960s.<ref>{{cite web |quote='''Classics of design''': One of the best early examples of intuitive global signs for public lavatories was that created for British Rail in the mid-1960s. As part of a major modernisation programme, the state railway was given a new and all-embracing corporate identity by DRU [Design Research Unit], a design studio founded by Marcus Brumwell and Misha Black in 1943. Working with Margaret Calvert and Jock Kinneir, who designed a distinctive Rail Alphabet typeface based on Helvetica, DRU devised a clean-cut and convincingly modern aesthetic that was applied to all locomotives, trains, stations, published material and, yes, signs for lavatories. |url=https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20140911-the-genius-of-toilet-signs |title=The genius behind stick figure toilet signs |publisher=BBC |first=Jonathan |last= Glancey |date= 11 September 2014}} (includes picture of the ideogram, which is copyright).</ref> Before that, local usage had been more variable. For example, schoolhouse [[outhouse]]s in the 19th-century United States had ventilation holes in their doors that were shaped like a starburst Sun {{char|✴}} or like a crescent Moon {{char|☾}}, respectively, to indicate whether the toilet was for use by boys or girls.<ref>Eric Sloane (1972, 2007) ''The Little Red Schoolhouse: A Sketchbook of Early American Education''. Doubleday & Co.; Dover Books.</ref> The British Rail pictograms{{snd}}often color-coded blue and red{{cn|date=July 2022}}{{snd}}are now the norm for marking public toilets in much of the world, with the female symbol distinguished by a triangular skirt or dress, and in early years (and sometimes still) the male symbol stylized like a [[tuxedo]].<ref name=BBC />

These symbols are abstracted to varying degrees in different countries{{snd}}for example, the circle-and-triangle variants[[File:Male_public_toilet_icon.svg|24x24px]] (male) and [[file:Female public toilet icon.svg|24px]] (female) commonly found on [[portable toilet]]s, sometimes abstracted further to a triangle {{char|△}} (representing a skirt or dress) for female and an inverted triangle {{char|▽}} (representing a broad-shouldered tuxedo) for male in Lithuania.<ref name=BBC />

In elementary schools, the pictograms may be of children rather than of adults, with the girl distinguished by her hair. In themed locations, such as bars and tourist attractions, a thematic image or figurine of a man and woman or boy and girl may be used.{{cn|date=July 2022}}

In Poland, an inverted triangle {{char|▽}} is used for male while a circle {{char|○}} is used for female.<ref name=BBC /> 

In mainland China, silhouettes of heads in profile may be used as gender pictograms,{{cn|date=July 2022}} generally alongside the Chinese characters for male ([[wikt:男|男]]) and female ([[wikt:女|女]]).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Summers |first=Josh |date=2020-11-19 |title=Chinese Toilet {{!}} What to Expect (including Squat Toilets) |url=https://www.travelchinacheaper.com/china-toilets-guide |access-date=2023-06-02 |website=Travel China Cheaper |language=en-US}}</ref>

Some contemporary designs for restroom signage in public spaces are shifting away from symbols that demonstrate gender as binary as a way to be more inclusive.<ref>Schwartz, M. (2018). Inclusive Restroom Design. ''Library Journal'', ''143''(8), 28–31.</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Dobson |first=Terry |date=Winter 2017 |title=Tip of the Icon: Examining Socially Symbolic Indexical Signage |journal=Dialectic |volume=I |issue=1 |doi=10.3998/dialectic.14932326.0001.106 |issn=2572-7001|doi-access=free |hdl=2027/spo.14932326.0001.106 }}</ref>

<gallery>
File:Toilets unisex.svg|Standard [[AIGA|American Institute of Graphic Arts]]{{nbsp}}(AIGA) symbols
File:Female symbol on public restroom.JPG|Non-AIGA women's symbol on a legally mandated circular background in US
File:Male symbol on public restroom.JPG|Non-AIGA men's symbol on a legally mandated triangular background in US
File:Gender Neutral Bathroom.jpg|Gender-neutral sign in US, composed of legally mandated circle and triangle
File:Toilet for everyone.jpg|[[Accessible]] gender-neutral sign icon
File:All gender restroom sign.jpg|Idiosyncratic unisex restroom in US (see [[LGBT symbols]])
File:5754-Linxia-City-Xiguan-Lu-public-toilet.jpg|Public toilet in China, with female silhouette to the left and male to the right
File:Restroom (4652458500).jpg|Idiosyncratic symbols in Japan
File:CAM00224 Washroom (11211245793).jpg|Humorous symbols in Austria
File:Toalett (Budapest) 1.svg|Semi-triangular tuxedo and dress shapes in Hungary
File:Toilet Promenadengalerien Linz - sign.jpg|Triangle-plus-circle symbols in Austria
File:Wojska Polskiego WC Jurata (cropped).jpg|Circle (female) and inverted triangle (male) in Poland
File:Sigiŝoaro, duseksa necesejo, 1.jpeg|Sign in Romania, with men's and women's shoes representing gender
File:Separate toilets for three genders.jpg|Male, female and [[hijra (South Asia)|hijra]] (trans) public toilets in India
File:Toilet signs in Madrid horticulture garden.jpg|Signs in the [[Real Jardín Botánico de Madrid]]; the male is depicted with a large [[upper body]] and the female with wide [[hips]]
File:Placa multigêner kúyr acessível.jpg|Rainbow accessible multigender icon with [[Gender-neutral language|gender-neutral]] word
File:Transgender woman's bathroom symbol.jpg|A bathroom sign in the US showing a [[transgender flag]] across a woman's bathroom symbol
</gallery>

==Sexual orientation and gender politics==
{{See also|LGBTQ symbols}}
[[File:Westerkerk - Gay symbols 2.jpg|thumb|upright|Lesbian and gay male interlocked gender sex symbols]]
Since the 1970s, variations of gender symbols have been used to express [[sexual orientation]] and [[gender politics]]. Two interlocking male symbols {{char|⚣}} are used to represent [[gay men]] while two interlocking female symbols {{char|⚢}} are often used to represent [[lesbian]]s.<ref name="LGBTQA">{{cite web |url=http://castle.eiu.edu/~lgbtqa/symbolism.php |title=Symbolism |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |website=LGBTQA+ WebCenter |publisher=Eastern Illinois University |access-date=31 December 2015 |quote=Since the 1970s, gays have used double interlocking male symbols to represent gay men. Double interlocking female symbols are often been used {{sic}} to symbolize lesbianism, but some feminists have instead used the double female symbols to represent sisterhood among women and three interlocking female symbols to denote lesbianism. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160212143017/http://castle.eiu.edu/~lgbtqa/symbolism.php |archive-date=12 February 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Two female and two male symbols interlocked represent [[bisexuality]], while an interlocked female and male symbol {{big|{{char|⚤}}}} represents [[heterosexuality]].<ref name="mcelroy"/>

The combined male-female symbol {{char|⚥}} is used to represent [[Androgyny|androgyne]] people;<ref name="Unicode2600" /> when additionally combined with the female {{big|{{char|♀}}}} and male {{big|{{char|♂}}}} symbols to create the symbol {{char|⚧}}, it indicates gender inclusivity,{{cn|date=July 2024}} though it is also used as a transgender symbol.<ref>{{cite web|date=July 1994|title=Transgender Symbol|url=https://www.gendertalk.com/tg-symbol/|website=GenderTalk}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=2015|title=History of Transgender Symbolism|url=http://transgendersociety.yolasite.com/history-of-transgender-symbolism.php|website=International Transgender Historical Society (ITHS)|access-date=2018-11-13|archive-date=2021-06-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210601020917/http://transgendersociety.yolasite.com/history-of-transgender-symbolism.php|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Unicode2600" /> The male-with-stroke symbol {{big|{{char|⚦}}}} is used for [[transgender]] people.<ref name="Unicode2600" />

The Mercury symbol {{big|{{char|☿}}}} and combined female/male symbol {{big|{{char|⚥}}}} have both been used to represent [[intersex]] people.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.iconfinder.com/icons/7275666/mercury_hermaphrodite_intersex_gender_sex_gender_identity_sexuality_icon |title=Mercury, hermaphrodite, intersex, gender, sex, gender identity, sexuality icon |last=Eigtved |first=Martin LeBlanc |website=Iconfinder}}</ref><ref name="mcelroy"/> The alchemical symbol for [[Antimony trioxide#sublimate of antimony|sublimate of antimony]] {{big|{{char|🜬}}}} is used to represent [[Non-binary gender|non-binary]] people. The neuter symbol {{big|{{char|⚲}}}} is also used to represent non-binary people, especially those who are neutrois or of a neutral gender.<ref name="mcelroy" /> A featureless circle {{char|⚪︎}} is also used to represent non-binary people, especially those who are agender or genderless, as well as [[asexuality]].<ref>{{cite web |date=6 November 2022 |title=Unicode Asexuality Character |url=https://www.sexualdiversity.org/edu/symbols/emoji/1065.php |website=Sexual Diversity}}</ref><ref name="mcelroy" />

Since the 2000s, numerous variants of gender symbols have been introduced in the context of [[LGBT]] culture and politics.<ref name="mcelroy">{{cite book |last=McElroy |first=D.R. |title=Signs & Symbols of the World: Over 1,001 Visual Signs Explained |date=2020 |publisher=The Quarto Group |location=London, United Kingdom |isbn=9781577151869}}</ref> Some of these symbols have been adopted into [[Unicode]] (in the [[Miscellaneous Symbols]] block) beginning with version 4.1 in 2005.

==Encoding==
{{Contains special characters|section=table}}
{{hatnote|These symbols are those that have [[code point]]s allocated by the [[Unicode Consortium]]. For additional symbols, see {{section link|LGBT symbols#Encoding}}.}}
{{for|information on entering these symbols in a document|Unicode input}}
<!-- Advice to editors: the "Associated [[Unicode Standard]] wording" column is that assigned by the Unicode Consortium and must remain so. Please do not try to change it to a different form of words that you consider would be better: your change will be reverted without discussion. -->
{| class="wikitable sortable" 
! [[Unicode Standard]] name || colspan=2 |Symbol || Associated remark in the standard<ref name=Unicode2600>{{cite web| title = Miscellaneous Symbols {{!}} Gender symbols| url = https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U2600.pdf | access-date = 2020-06-28 |publisher=[[Unicode Consortium]]}}</ref><ref name=1F680>{{cite web| title = Transport and Map Symbols{{snd}} Range: 1F680–1F6FF{{snd}} 1F6B9 | url = https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U1F680.pdf | work = Unicode Consortium | access-date = 2020-07-01}}</ref><!-- Please leave this as pointing to the PDF version because the HTML version does not provide the recognised associations -->
|-
| {{unichar|2642}}  || [[file:Male symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15]] || style="font-size: 200%;" | ♂ ||
|-
| {{unichar|2640}} || [[file:Venus symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15]] || style="font-size: 200%;"  | ♀  || 
|-
| {{unichar|26A5 }} || [[file:Male and female sign.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]] || style="font-size: 200%;"  | ⚥  ||Intersex, androgynous; hermaphrodite (in botany) <!-- Advice to editors: the "Associated [[Unicode Standard]] wording" column is that assigned by the Unicode Consortium and must remain so. Please do not try to change it to a different form of words that you consider would be better: your change will be reverted without discussion. -->
|-
| {{unichar|26A6}} || [[file:Androgyny symbol (fixed width).svg |frameless|upright=0.15]]  || style="font-size: 200%;"  | ⚦  || Transgender 
|-
| {{unichar|26A7}} || [[file:Gender sign.svg |frameless|upright=0.15]]  || style="font-size: 200%;"  | ⚧  || Transgender 
|-
| {{unichar|25B3}} || [[file:Fire symbol (alchemical).svg|frameless|upright=0.15]] || style="font-size: 200%;"  | △   ||
|-
| {{unichar|25BD}} || [[file:Water symbol (alchemical).svg|frameless|upright=0.15]] || style="font-size: 200%;" | ▽  ||
|-
| {{unichar|25A1}}  || [[file:Square symbol.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]] || style="font-size: 200%;" | □ ||
|-
| {{unichar|25CB}} || [[file:Full moon symbol.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]] || style="font-size: 200%;" | ○ ||Asexuality, sexless, genderless
|-
| {{unichar|1F7D5 }} || [[file:Silicon symbol (Dalton).svg|frameless|upright=0.15]] || style="font-size: 200%;" | 🟕 ||
|-
| {{unichar|1F6B9}} || [[File:Emoji u1f6b9.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]] || style="font-size: 200%;" | 🚹&#xFE0E; || Man symbol; men's [[Public toilet|restroom]]
|-
| {{unichar|1F6BA}} || [[File:Emoji u1f6ba.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]] || style="font-size: 200%;"  | 🚺&#xFE0E; || Woman symbol; women's restroom 
|-
| {{unichar|1F6C9}} || [[File:Boy silhouette.png|24px]] || style="font-size: 200%;"  | 🛉&#xFE0E; || 
|-
| {{unichar|1F6CA}} || [[File:Girl silhouette.png|24px]] || style="font-size: 200%;"  | 🛊&#xFE0E; ||
|-
| {{unichar|1F6BB}} || [[File:Aseos Públicos.jpg|frameless|upright=0.15]][[File:Emoji u1f6bb.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]] || style="font-size: 200%;"  | 🚻&#xFE0E;  || Man and woman symbol with divider; unisex restroom{{efn|This symbol is often seen on an outer door leading to separate facilities behind inner doors, in which case the glyph has a dividing line separating the men and women symbols}}
|}
<!-- Please do not use sources other than the Unicode Consortium. This table is a list of their definitions.-->

==See also==
<!-- This list is of topics that are related to this gender issues. Please do not add articles that happen to be about some unrelated symbol. -->

*  {{anli|Symbol}}
** {{anli|List of symbols}}
*  {{anli|Fertility symbol}}
*  {{anli|LGBTQ symbols}}
*  {{anli|Miscellaneous Symbols}}
*  {{anli|Sex symbol}}
*  {{anli|grammatical gender}}
*  {{anli|Semiotics}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}

{{Sexual identities}}

[[Category:Gender and society]]
[[Category:Human gender and sexuality symbols]]