Political wisdom of the act aside, it turns out that raising the middle finger — flipping the bird, as it's commonly known — has a surprisingly complex history. The gesture is ubiquitous ...

Whether or not M.I.A. was aware, the gesture originally referred to a phallus An American television network has apologised after pop star M.I.A. extended her middle finger during Sunday night's ...

Madonna was upstaged at her own Super Bowl halftime show Sunday when guest performer M.I.A. extended her middle finger at the camera. When did we start calling this gesture “flipping the bird?” ...

While throwing up a middle finger today clearly communicates a resounding “f**k you,” in classical society, historians say a middle finger was more of a ribald sexual reference. The middle ...

The gesture is considered rude, offensive and inappropriate but one thing it is not — at least under Canadian law — is illegal. A Canadian judge ruled last month that giving someone the finger ...

It’s also understandable — though arguable in the court of law — to want to give the middle finger to the officer who gave you a ticket. You might have to explain to a judge why you ...