ISO/IEC JTC1/SC2/WG2 N2663
2003-10-17
Universal Multiple-Octet Coded Character Set
International Organization for Standardization
Organisation internationale de normalisationМеждународная организация по стандартизацииDoc Type: Working Group Document
Title:
Second revised proposal to encode symbols for genealogy and gender studies in the UCS
Source: Michael Everson
Status:Individual Contribution
Replaces: N2580, N2587
Action:For consideration by JTC1/SC2/WG2 and UTC
Date:
2003-10-17
A number of related symbols have been identified which are used in discussions of genealogy, botany,and modern gender studies. Some of the characters used in these fields are already encoded, and theothers fill out a set of symbols, all of which should encoded in the UCS. Further discussion has suggested
revised names for some of these characters.
263F

2640
2642

êå
ã

MERCURY= hermaphrodite, double sexed (botany, biology)= virgin (entomology)
FEMALE SIGN
= Venus
MALE SIGN= Mars= iron (alchemy)

The first six proposed (DOUBLED FEMALE SIGN U+269D, DOUBLED MALE SIGN U+269E, INTERLOCKEDFEMALE AND MALE SIGN U+269F, MALE AND FEMALE SIGN U+26A0, MALE WITH STROKE SIGN U+26A1, andMALE WITH STROKE AND MALE AND FEMALE SIGN U+269D U+26A2) have during the last decades becomerather widespread throughout the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered community, and are used bothin print and on web sites as widely – or more widely – as the recycling symbols which were presented inN2240 on 2000-08-27. The seventh and eighth characters proposed (VERTICAL MALE WITH STROKE SIGN
U+26A3 and HORIZONTAL MALE WITH STROKE SIGN U+26A4) are related to the character proposed for
U+26A1 but have unique semantics in alchemy and early chemistry; note the alchemical value also given
for U+2642. The ninth character proposed (MEDIUM WHITE CIRCLE U+26A5) is used in a number ofcontexts. In botany and other sciences, it forms a set with the already-encoded MERCURY U+263F, FEMALE
SIGN U+2640, and MALE SIGN U+2642: hermaphrodite, male, female, and sexless. (Entomologists use
MERCURY U+263F for “virgin” and therefore use the proposed MALE AND FEMALE SIGN U+26A0 for“hermaphrodite”.) This character and the two following supply a set of missing circles for which gaps areleft in UTR #25 which discusses the size-based model applied for mathematics. One usage for the tenthcharacter proposed (MEDIUM BLACK CIRCLE U+26A6) was described in N2415 in relation to various
playback symbols, including the EJECT SYMBOL which was subsequently encoded. The eleventh character
proposed (MEDIUM SMALL WHITE CIRCLE U+26A7) can be used in genealogy; it symbolizes an engagement
ring and indicates a state of betrothal. The twelfth through seventeenth characters proposed (MARRIAGESYMBOL U+26A8, DIVORCE SYMBOL U+26A9, UNMARRIED PARTNERSHIP SYMBOL U+26AA, BATTLE SIGN
U+26AB, COFFIN U+26AC, and FUNERAL URN U+26AD) are also used in genealogy (the first three ofthese are related to the MEDIUM SMALL WHITE CIRCLE used as a ring); the fifteenth is used generically for“battle” in historical literature such as encyclopaediae, dictionaries, and maps.
1269D

269E

269F

26A0

26A126A226A326A426A526A626A726A826A926AA
26AB

26AC26AD
2éçïè°†…
ÀîÓÔëíì¢ñó

DOUBLED FEMALE SIGN
= lesbianism
DOUBLED MALE SIGN (glyph variant= male homosexualityû)INTERLOCKED FEMALE AND MALE SIGN (glyph variant= bisexuality
MALE AND FEMALE SIGN
= transgendered sexuality= hermaphrodite (in entomology)
MALE WITH STROKE SIGN
= transgendered sexuality
MALE WITH STROKE AND MALE AND FEMALE SIGN
= transgendered sexuality
VERTICAL MALE WITH STROKE SIGN
= ferrous iron sulphate (alchemy and older chemistry)
HORIZONTAL MALE WITH STROKE SIGN
= magnesium (alchemy and older chemistry)
MEDIUM WHITE CIRCLEbase for male or female sign
= asexuality, sexless, genderless= engaged, betrothed
MEDIUM BLACK CIRCLE= record
MEDIUM SMALL WHITE CIRCLE= engaged, betrothed (genealogy)
can represent ah wedding ring
MARRIAGE SYMBOL→ U+221E infinity
DIVORCE SYMBOL= engaged, betrothed (genealogy)→ U+29DE infinity negated with vertical bar
UNMARRIED PARTNERSHIP SYMBOL→ U+29DF double-ended multimap
BATTLE SIGN (glyph variant= battleground= died in battle (genealogy)

ò)

COFFIN= buried (genealogy)→ U+29DE infinity negated with vertical bar
FUNERAL URN= cremated (genealogy)ü)Above, text from the 21st edition of Die deutsche Rechtschreibung (Mannheim: Duden, 1996, ISBN 3411-04011-4), showing genealogical symbols. Above right, the DIVORCE SYMBOL, with references toM A R R I A G E S Y M B O L and U N M A R R I E D PA RT N E R S H I P S Y M B O L , from Carl G. Liungman’s Ta n k e t e c k e n(Trondheim: Polaris, 1993, ISBN 91-88-32601)
Right, gender symbols from Carl G. Liungman’s
Ta n k e t e c k e n (ISBN 91-88-32601). Below, a
discussion of gender symbols from a site in Wales(h t t p : / / w w w. l a m p . a c . u k / s u / n u s w a l e s l g b /english/symbols.htm). Below right, discussion ofthe botanical use of the already-encoded MERCURY
symbol, taken from a website somewhere;
Liungman offers a similar description.

Right, the VERTICAL MALE WITH STROKE SIGN, usedin alchemy and older chemistry to denote “ferrous
hydrosulphate”, from Carl G. Liungman’s Tanke tecken (ISBN 91-88-32601). Also shown are theH O R I Z O N TA L M A L E W I T H S T R O K E S I G N , used toindicate “magnesium”, and the MALE WITH STROKESIGN, used to indicate “steel” from the 1700s; thissymbol is also used now to indicate “transgendered sexuality” by some members of the LGBT
community.

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A. Administrative
1. Title
Proposal to encode symbols for genealogy and gender studies in the UCS.
2. Requester’s nameMichael Everson
3. Requester type (Member body/Liaison/Individual contribution)
Individual contribution.
4. Submission date2003-10-17
5. Requester’s reference (if applicable)
6. Choose one of the following:
6a. This is a complete proposal
Yes.
6b. More information will be provided later
No.

B. Technical -- General
1. Choose one of the following:
1a. This proposal is for a new script (set of characters)
No.
Proposed name of script
1b. The proposal is for addition of character(s) to an existing blockYes.
1b. Name of the existing block
Miscellaneous Symbols.
2. Number of characters in proposal
17
3. Proposed category (see section II, Character Categories)
Category A.
4a. Proposed Level of Implementation (1, 2 or 3) (see clause 14, ISO/IEC 10646-1: 2000)
Level 1.
4b. Is a rationale provided for the choice?
Yes.
4c. If YES, reference
Spacing characters.
5a. Is a repertoire including character names provided?
Yes.
5b. If YES, are the names in accordance with the character naming guidelines in Annex L of ISO/IEC 10646-1: 2000?
Yes.
5c. Are the character shapes attached in a legible form suitable for review?
Yes.
6a. Who will provide the appropriate computerized font (ordered preference: True Type, or PostScript format) for publishing thestandard?
Michael Everson.
6b. If available now, identify source(s) for the font (include address, e-mail, ftp-site, etc.) and indicate the tools used:
Michael Everson, Fontographer.
7a. Are references (to other character sets, dictionaries, descriptive texts etc.) provided?
No.
7b. Are published examples of use (such as samples from newspapers, magazines, or other sources) of proposed characters
attached?
Yes.
8. Does the proposal address other aspects of character data processing (if applicable) such as input, presentation, sorting,searching, indexing, transliteration etc. (if yes please enclose information)?
No.
9. Submitters are invited to provide any additional information about Properties of the proposed Character(s) or Script that willassist in correct understanding of and correct linguistic processing of the proposed character(s) or script. Examples of suchproperties are: Casing information, Numeric information, Currency information, Display behaviour information such as line
breaks, widths etc., Combining behaviour, Spacing behaviour, Directional behaviour, Default Collation behaviour, relevance inMark Up contexts, Compatibility equivalence and other Unicode normalization related information. See the Unicode standard at
http://www.unicode.org for such information on other scripts. Also see Unicode Character Database
http://www.unicode.org/Public/UNIDATA/ UnicodeCharacterDatabase.html and associated Unicode Technical Reports for
information needed for consideration by the Unicode Technical Committee for inclusion in the Unicode Standard.
The characters should have the same properties as the MALE SIGN and FEMALE SIGN.

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C. Technical -- Justification
1. Has this proposal for addition of character(s) been submitted before? If YES, explain.
Yes. This is a revision of N2580 and N2587
2a. Has contact been made to members of the user community (for example: National Body, user groups of the script or characters,other experts, etc.)?
No. Well, other experts proposed some of the characters on the Unicode list.
2b. If YES, with whom?
2c. If YES, available relevant documents
3. Information on the user community for the proposed characters (for example: size, demographics, information technology use, orpublishing use) is included?
Biologists, .botanists, students of gender, and members of the LGBT community.
4a. The context of use for the proposed characters (type of use; common or rare)
Common symbols used as described above.
4b. Reference
5a. Are the proposed characters in current use by the user community?
Yes.
5b. If YES, where?
Scientific papers, web sites, educational material.
6a. After giving due considerations to the principles in Principles and Procedures document (a WG 2 standing document) must theproposed characters be entirely in the BMP?
Yes.
6b. If YES, is a rationale provided?
Yes.
6c. If YES, reference
Keep with similar symbols.
7. Should the proposed characters be kept together in a contiguous range (rather than being scattered)?
8a. Can any of the proposed characters be considered a presentation form of an existing character or character sequence?
No.
8b. If YES, is a rationale for its inclusion provided?
8c. If YES, reference
9a. Can any of the proposed characters be encoded using a composed character sequence of either existing characters or otherproposed characters?
No.
9b. If YES, is a rationale for its inclusion provided?
9c. If YES, reference
10a. Can any of the proposed character(s) be considered to be similar (in appearance or function) to an existing character?
No.
10b. If YES, is a rationale for its inclusion provided?
10c. If YES, reference
11a. Does the proposal include use of combining characters and/or use of composite sequences (see clauses 4.12 and 4.14 in ISO/IEC
10646-1: 2000)?
No.
11b. If YES, is a rationale for such use provided?
11c. If YES, reference
12a. Is a list of composite sequences and their corresponding glyph images (graphic symbols) provided?
No.
12b. If YES, reference
13a. Does the proposal contain characters with any special properties such as control function or similar semantics?
No.
13b. If YES, describe in detail (include attachment if necessary)
14a. Does the proposal contain any Ideographic compatibility character(s)?
No.
14b. If YES, is the equivalent corresponding unified ideographic character(s) identified?

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