Oregon Fans: When You Make An “O” Sign With Your Hands, You Are Screaming “Vagina” In Sign Language

by Glenn Davis | 6:48 pm, November 18th, 2011

Making a “O” sign with your hands (as the cheerleaders above are doing) seems only natural as a universal gesture among University of Oregon athletes and fans. It’s simple, it literally is your recognizable logo – it’s the “Hook ‘em Horns” of Oregon. But there’s a downside that’s not readily apparent…at least not to those without an understanding of sign language. Several Oregon players, though, do have some sign language knowledge, so they could tell you this:

[I]n sign language, the fans are saying — screaming, really — the word vagina. Twenty-nine players on the team are enrolled in the university’s American Sign Language program. Their teacher delights in telling them the true meaning of the sign when they form a spade-shaped “O” with their hands.

So we guess that if you form an “O” well enough (i.e. round enough), you might be in the clear – though there’d probably still be some confusion, since the ASL sign for the letter “o” is made with only one hand. And if you do this? Forget it. That’s a vagina all the way.

And that’s why Johanna Larson, the instructor for one of those football-player-heavy sign language classes at Oregon, told The New York Times, “We’re trying to spread the word to make the ‘O’ more of a rounded shape.” At least they’ll have some help from the team. We’ll say this – when the Pac-12 briefly tried to get Oregon players to stop making the “O” this year, there were way more issues with the symbol than they realized.

Photo via

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oregon ducks

Anonymous

You actually wrote this? How old are you Glenn Davis? Twelve? Thirteen?

This is the kind stuff we used to talk about in junior high school lunchroom. Maybe you should be writing for a junior high school blog.

Grow up or get another job. You’re an embarassment.
hahahaaaa!

What’s wrong with telling Stanford, Huskies and the dirty Beavs that they are F*****g C***s? Exactly!
SteveMG is negative.

pretty sure he made it for 2 reasons, 1 to inform people, like me who didn’t know this and 2 for a few laughs. I think you are just a negative nancy.
Dodger

I would say the Ducks are C***s.
Negativeone

Please do not use my name like that – who ever you are – mr negative “___” fill in the blanks with your name
Piggedy81

“Twenty-nine players on the team are enrolled in the university’s
American Sign Language program. Their teacher delights in telling them
the true meaning of the sign when they form a spade-shaped “O” with
their hands.” – As if the players actually go to their classes!
Guest

ok this is absolutely ridiculous. do you honestly think that when deaf people see oregon fans and players making the “o” sign they think “oh they’re saying vagina”? signs can have different meanings depending on the context they’re in. much like every other goddamn language to ever exist. learn something about the subject you’re writing about next time so you don’t write something as ignorant as this piece of crap.
Guest Too

Seems like a whOregon fan is upset that you made fun of his second class institution. Relax, the article is all in fun.

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