What the female symbol means
♀︎ is the universal sign for female. Biologists use it for female plants and animals, doctors and genealogists use it as shorthand on charts and family trees, and you see it on restroom doors and forms. It is a circle with a small cross below.
The sign began as the astronomical symbol for the planet Venus, named after the Roman goddess of love, and is traditionally said to show her hand mirror. That side of its history has its own page: see the Venus symbol for the planet, astrology and alchemy meanings.
The female symbol in feminism and pride
Since the women's liberation movement of the late 1960s, ♀︎ has also been a feminist emblem, often drawn with a raised fist inside the circle. Unicode has no single character for that design, so people type ♀︎✊︎ side by side.
Two linked female signs ⚢ are widely used for lesbians or a female couple, and ⚤ links ♀︎ with the male symbol ♂︎. You can compare every combination on the gender symbols page.
How to type the female symbol
On Windows, hold Alt and type 12 on the number pad. In Microsoft Word, type 2640 and press Alt + X. In HTML, write ♀ or ♀. On a Mac, open the Character Viewer with Control + Command + Space and search "female".
On a phone, search "female sign" in the emoji keyboard to get ♀️. The emoji and the text sign are the same character: the emoji version only adds an invisible style selector, which is why ♀︎ can look colorful on one device and plain black on another.