Question about hand signs in photos

Traditional two figure gestures have different meanings depending on the relationship of the gesturing palm and the recipient. If you see the signer's palm (back of hand facing signer), it is the V for victory sign or in more recent times, a gesture of peace.

If you see the signer's back of hand (palm facing signer) it is a rude gesture with origins dating from the Anglo-French Hundred Year War. The English longbow was very effective in dealing with the French who used cross bows. If the French caught an English bowman, they cut off his index and middle fingers where were used to draw the bowstring. The English would show the French these two fingers (knuckles out) as a sign of defiance. Used in this (knuckles out) manner, it is a rude two figured salute. If you would like to emphasize the insult, swing the gesturing arm (and fingers) upward and slap your bicep with the opposite hand.

That said, two fingers with back of hand out (towards recipient) but sideways is now some kind of "urban" (rap?) positive greeting called a "deuce" or "chuck a duce". So if you decide to show a duce, make sure your fingers are horizontal and not vertically up. As with many greetings, it is how you say (or sign) it.

Well, I certainly remembered peace symbols from the 60's, but didn't realize they had morphed.

Thanks for the input.

My nieces and nephews in Malaysia/Singapore tell me it doesn't mean anything to them, they just do it because they see everyone else do it! I've asked them about 100 times! They also do a thing where, to me anyway, it looks like they're imitating the maneki-neko. That is the cat with the waving paw that many believes brings good luck to your business. And still they claim they're just doing it because they've seen others do it.

That just scratches the surface of the variety of meanings, depending on context, that those gestures have.

In club scenes, depending on the club, it could be a way of disparaging the masculinity of the viewers, or it could be a way of celebrating the feminine/lesbian identity of the poser. It's a way of asserting oneself, but the particular assertion being made varies depending on the situation. Just like with giving someone the finger, it used to mean something relatively specific, but not so much anymore.

It's just "monkey see, monkey do". Kids watch music videos and mimic them. What the signals mean doesn't matter to them, they just think it's cool to do it.