Why is the Peace Symbol Three Lines and a Circle?

Discover the true history and meaning of the peace symbol

You have seen it on banners, in demonstrations, on T-shirts, and on necklaces. It’s just three lines and a circle but there’s no doubt you know what it means: peace.

Today, the peace symbol is a part of global culture. It is used to stand up for all kinds of causes, and we perfectly understand its meaning regardless of where we come from. However, did you know that it is only six decades old? Its original meaning was much more specific but why did it end up being used universally to represent peace? Find out in the following video:

What is behind the design?

When the United Kingdom became the third country in the world to manufacture and experiment with atomic bombs in the early 1950s, fear of nuclear conflict began to grow among the British.

To protest against the manufacture and use of nuclear weapons in England, the Aldermaston March was organized in 1958: thousands of protesters were to walk from London to Aldermaston (located about 83km away), where the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment was located. Among the marchers was designer Gerald Holtom.

Holtom’s work had showed him the power of imagery. So, the activist decided to create a symbol for the march and the protest movement. He designed it so that the anti-nuclear message would be immediately recognizable and would thus have more power and influence.

Holtom sought a symbol that was representative, yet simple to understand and remember. For this reason, he used semaphore–a sign language still used today by sailors to communicate over long distances– taking the shapes for "N" and “D” to signify "Nuclear Disarmament".

But the symbol also has another meaning: it represents a desperate person with outstretched arms and open palms, like the man in front of the firing squad in Goya's famous painting, “Third Third of May 1808".

Evolution of its meaning

Geralt Holtom's idea took effect, and the symbol quickly became popular among critics of nuclear weapons. In fact, it was so successful that its use crossed borders and spread rapidly throughout the world.

So widespread, in fact, that its transformation was inevitable: the moment that different people protesting for different causes around the world began to use it, its meaning went beyond the rejection of nuclear weapons.

In fact, it is believed that when it arrived in the United States it was first used during the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, but it became popular later when anti-Vietnam War protesters adopted it as an emblem of anti-violence and counter-culture.

From that moment on, it was used by all kinds of collectives to defend their causes all over the world: in the protests against Apartheid in South Africa, against the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, for LGTBQ+ rights, feminism, and the environment.

A symbol that belongs to all of us

How is it possible that a symbol that was used in a particular protest, before the digital era, has managed to have such an impact?

The reason lies in its own design: its simplicity makes it easy to draw and remember, and the message it conveys is a universal value that everyone can understand and pursue. For this reason, it has been adapted and used by all kinds of people and movements to defend principles such as peace, freedom, and equality for over 60 years.

This virality was also made possible by Gerald Holtom himself who, as the recognized creator, decided not to register it, despite its success and repercussion.

With no copyright to limit its use and distribution, the symbol belongs to no one and is therefore in the hands of all to use in the push for peace.

English version by @harry_davies.

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