middle finger: dark skin tone
A hand with thumbs and pinky fingers extended, forming the 'I love you' sign in American Sign Language, with a dark skin tone.
There are different emoji meanings for middle finger: dark skin tone in different cultures:
- Western culture
- Widely recognized as the 'I love you' sign, particularly stemming from American Sign Language (ASL).
- East Asian culture
- Less commonly understood as 'I love you' and might be mistaken for other hand gestures or simply seen as a playful 'rock on' sign, especially in Japan where 'rock on' involves the index, middle, and ring fingers being down.
- Mediterranean/Latin American culture
- In some contexts (e.g., Italy, Spain, Brazil), a similar gesture with only the index and pinky extended (devil horns) can have negative connotations, but the addition of the thumb in the 'I love you' sign clearly differentiates it.
