When people picture peace symbol tattoos, usually two things come to mind: the sign itself, a circle with three lines inside, and the two fingered-V. The peace sign itself is internationally recognized to represent peace. It’s also known as the nuclear disarmament symbol and was designed in 1958 by Gerald Holtom for the British nuclear disarmament movement. He made it for a march organized by the Direct Action Community and supported by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. The symbol is a combination of semaphore signals, or flag signals, for N (a person with both arms down diagonally holding a flag in each hand) and D (a person holding one flag up and holding the other one down). ND stands for Nuclear Disarmament. After it became the symbol for the DAC and soon became recognized as a symbol of peace. The two-finger V sign used to mean victory during World War II, but in the 60s, protestors against the Vietnam War used it ironically in anti-war protests and it became another recognized symbol of peace.
