Gender symbol - wikipedia Gender symbol A gender symbol is a pictogram or glyph used to represent either biological sex or sociological gender ( a terminological distinction originating in 1950s sociology ) in either biology, medicine, genealogy or selective breeding, or in sociology, gender politics, LGBT subculture and identity politics. Pictograms used to indicate male and female public toilets became widely used beginning in the 1960s. The shape of the Mars symbol has been likened to an iron - tipped spear ( i.e. a weapon mainly used by men ) and shape of the Venus symbol to a bronze mirror or a distaff ( associated with women in the past ). Contents 1 Biology and medicine 2 Sociology 3 See also 4 Notes 5 External links Biology and medicine The two standard sex symbols are the Mars symbol ♂ ( often considered to represent a shield and spear ) for male and Venus symbol ♀ ( often considered to represent a bronze mirror with a handle ) for female, derived from astrological symbols, denoting the classical planets Mars and Venus, respectively. They were first used to denote the effective sex of plants ( i.e. sex of individual in a given crossbreed, since most plants are hermaphroditic ) by Carl Linnaeus in 1751. They are still used in scientific publications to indicate the sex of an individual, for example of a patient. Pedigree charts published in scientific papers now more commonly use a square for male and a circle for female. Mars symbol ( U + 2642 ♂ ). The symbol for a male organism or man. Venus symbol ( U + 2640 ♀ ). The symbol for a female organism or woman. Square symbol ( U + 25A1 ). The symbol for a male family member in a pedigree chart. A triangle is also often used. Circle symbol ( U + 25CB ○ ). The symbol for a female family member in a pedigree chart. From the symbol of Mercury ( U + 263F ☿ ). This symbol is used to indicate a virgin female ( for example, in genetic analysis ). Also used in botany to indicate flower with both male and female reproductive organs. ☿ can also be used as a unisex symbol since intersex Hermaphroditus was a child of Hermes and Aphrodite ( Mercury and Venus ). Sociology Main article : Public toilet § Gender and public toilets Gender pictograms are frequently used to mark public toilets. Standard AIGA symbols Non-AIGA women 's public restroom symbol Non-AIGA Men 's public restroom symbol Since the 1970s, variations of gender symbols have also been used to express sexual orientation and political ideology. The first instance of this was the use of two interlocking male symbols to represent male homosexuality. Since the 2000s, numerous such variants have been introduced in the context of LGBT culture and politics. Some of these symbols have been adopted into Unicode ( in the Miscellaneous Symbols block ) beginning with version 4.1 ( 2005 ) : Main article : LGBT symbols § Gender symbols Unicode name hex dec Meaning Doubled female sign ⚢ U + 26A2 & # 9890 ; Female homosexuality Doubled male sign ⚣ U + 26A3 & # 9891 ; Male homosexuality Interlocked female and male sign ⚤ U + 26A4 & # 9892 ; Heterosexuality Male and female sign ⚥ U + 26A5 & # 9893 ; Male and Female Male with stroke sign ⚦ U + 26A6 & # 9894 ; Transgender Male with stroke and male and female sign ⚧ U + 26A7 & # 9895 ; Transgender Neo-pagan male symbol ( `` blade '' ) Neo-pagan female symbol ( `` chalice '' ) See also Alchemical symbol Astrological symbols Miscellaneous Symbols Unicode block Notes Jump up ^ sex - segregated public bathrooms existed since at least the 1880s, originally labelled in writing. The stick - figure pictograms were popularized with their introduction by British Rail in the 1960s. The genius behind the stick figure toilet signs, BBC Future ( 2014 ). `` 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. '' `` 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. '' Jump up ^ Taylor, Robert B. ( 18 April 2016 ). `` White Coat Tales : Medicine 's Heroes, Heritage, and Misadventures ''. Springer -- via Google Books. Jump up ^ Stearn, William T. ( May 1962 ). `` The Origin of the Male and Female Symbols of Biology ''. Taxon. 11 ( 4 ) : 109 -- 113. doi : 10.2307 / 1217734. JSTOR 1217734. Jump up ^ Zhigang, Zhigang ; et al. ( 25 September 2009 ). `` A HIV - 1 heterosexual transmission chain in Guangzhou, China : a molecular epidemiological study ''. Virology Journal. BioMed Central. 6 ( 148 ) : Figure 1. doi : 10.1186 / 1743 - 422X - 6 - 148. Retrieved 31 December 2015. ( Mars male gender symbol ) indicates male ; ( female Venus gender symbol ) indicates female ^ Jump up to : Schott, GD ( 24 Dec 2005 ). `` Sex symbols ancient and modern : their origins and iconography on the pedigree ''. BMJ. British Medical Journal. 331 ( 7531 ) : 1509 -- 1510. doi : 10.1136 / bmj. 331.7531. 1509. PMC 1322246. PMID 16373733. Retrieved 31 December 2015. Jump up ^ `` Symbolism ''. LGBTQA+ WebCenter. Eastern Illinois University. Retrieved 31 December 2015. 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. In the 1970 's, some lesbian feminists used three interlocking female symbols to represent their rejection of male standards of monogamy. Jump up ^ `` Unicode Utilities : Character Properties ''. Unicode Consortium. Retrieved 2017 - 08 - 30. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gender symbols. Decode Unicode, showing all Unicode symbols Gender and sexual identities Gender identities Gender Man Woman Male Female Androgyne Bigender Boi Cisgender Cross-dresser Gender bender Genderqueer Gender neutrality Postgenderism Gender variance Pangender Transgender Trans man Trans woman Transmasculine Transfeminine Transsexual Trigender Third gender, third sex Akava'ine Bakla Bissu Calabai Eunuch Fa'afafine Fakaleiti Femminiello Galli Hijra Kathoey Khanith Köçek Koekchuch Māhū Maknyah Mukhannathun Muxe Nullo Sworn virgin Takatāpui Third gender Travesti Tumtum Two - Spirit Winkte Other Skoptsy Sexual orientation, identities Gender binary Asexual Bisexual Heterosexual Homosexual Non-binary Ambiphilia, Androphilia, Gynephilia Pansexuality Polysexuality Third gender Two - Spirit Other Antisexuality Attraction to transgender people Banjee Bi-curious Ex-gay Ex-ex - gay Gay Gray asexuality Heteroflexible Lesbian Kinsey scale Monosexuality Non-heterosexual Queer Questioning Polyamorous Romantic orientation Same gender loving See also Disorders of sex development Ego - dystonic sexual orientation Erotic target location error Gender roles Gender of rearing Hermaphrodite Human female sexuality Human male sexuality Intersex Sex and gender distinction Sex assignment Sex change Sex reassignment surgery Sexuality and gender identity - based cultures Social construction of gender The NeuroGenderings Network Violence against women & Men ( Gendercide ) Gender studies portal Sexuality portal LGBT portal Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gender_symbol&oldid=808709856 '' Categories : Gender Human gender and sexuality symbols Talk Contents About Wikipedia Български Català Čeština Deutsch Español فارسی Frysk Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk ਪੰਜਾਬੀ Русский Slovenčina தமிழ் Türkçe Українська 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 4 November 2017, at 17 : 03. 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Question: where do the symbols for male and female come from
Answer: Mars symbol ♂