The Origins of the V-Sign: (V for Victory) and its Historical Context

For a long time now, we have observed victorious athletes on the playing field striking a specific hand gesture while posing for photographs—forming the shape of the English letter 'V' using their index and middle fingers. However, following 2010—when smartphones began to gain traction in India, much as they were in other parts of the world, and the popularity of social media gradually surged—a veritable craze for taking mobile selfies swept across every segment of Indian society, particularly among the youth. This trend intensified significantly after 2013–14, when the Oxford Dictionary named 'selfie' its 'Word of the Year' and front-facing cameras became a standard feature across all types of smartphones, ranging from the affordable to the high-end. If we observe closely, we notice that people adopt a variety of poses while taking selfies to make their photographs look more beautiful and appealing—such as the smooch or pout, chin-down/eyes- up look, candid or natural shots, mirror selfies, side profiles, over-the-shoulder shots, the duck face or kissy face, overhead angles, foot or shoe selfies, and so on. Among these various poses, one stands out as being exceptionally popular: the V-sign.

The V-sign involves curling the other fingers inward while extending only the index and middle fingers to form the shape of 'V'—the twenty-second letter of the English alphabet—a gesture widely regarded as a symbol of victory or happiness. So, come along! Let us explore the origins of this V-sign—that is, 'V for Victory'—and uncover the story behind its rise to widespread popularity. Dr. Elizabeth Yuko—an assistant professor of ethics, bioethicist, and journalist at Fordham University in New York City, US —writes about the origins of the 'V-sign' in an article titled 'How the V-Sign Came to Represent Victory, Then Peace', published on the History Channel (History.com). She notes that during World War II, the V-sign served as a symbol of victory for the Allied Powers of that era—namely, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and France.

Credit for initiating this 'V for Victory' sign goes to Victor Auguste de Laveleye—a Belgian Olympian, politician, and radio broadcaster who served as the Director of the Belgian Section of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in London in 1940. In a bulletin first broadcast on January 14, 1941, he suggested that listeners in occupied Belgium, France, the Netherlands, and North Africa write the letter 'V' in chalk in public places; his aim was to unite the people of German-occupied Europe and to express a silent resistance against the Nazis.

Subsequently, on June 6, 1941, Douglas Ritchie—who worked in the BBC's European Department during World War II—continued to promote the V-sign under his pseudonym, 'Colonel Britton' (a fictional character). Broadcasting via the BBC, he reiterated As for when and how this sign evolved into a symbol of peace, there is no definitive historical evidence; however, during the 1960s, the younger generation particularly supporters of the anti- war and counter cultural movements—adopted it not merely as a symbol of victory, but rather as a call for the immediate cessation of the war in Southeast Asia. Since then, the sign has been firmly established as a universal symbol of peace. Eighty-five years after its inception, this sign is now commonly used on sports fields to celebrate victory or simply as a pose while taking selfies. The complete history of the V-sign serves as a compelling illustration of how the meaning of a symbol can transform over time and across different contexts.