Does the OK Sign Actually Signify “White Power,” or What?

The answer is neither simple nor straightforward, which is why it’s such an effective trolling tactic

Emily Pothast
Form and Resonance
Published in
10 min readSep 5, 2018

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When held to the chest with the thumb on top, the OK sign also means “asshole” in American Sign Language. Its ambiguity is precisely why it’s so useful. Credit: Adan Perez/EyeEm/Getty Images

Last April, as you might recall, Kanye West had a bit of a media moment during which he tweeted a photograph of himself wearing a MAGA hat, prompting predictable outrage. (Recently, he issued an…

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Emily Pothast
Form and Resonance

Artist and historian. PhD student researching religion, material culture, media, and politics. emilypothast.com