Feminine and Masculine: a journey into Symbols between History, Art and Universal Language

We see them daily; drawn, photographed, tattooed and in my case, the symbol of my essence, a pillar that my brand was built on.

The symbol of the feminine and the masculine are nowadays considered to be iconic. And just like everything, there’s always a story behind their meaning.

The most immediate and intuitive association is certainly the one that links these two symbols to Sexuality. The association to the shapes of the female body given by the roundness of the symbol, while the arrow recalls the shape of the male genital organ.

Both are also related to the world of Astronomy. The masculine one is referred to the symbol of planet Mars and the feminine one to Venus. These two planets, as well as the symbols, refer to Greek and Roman deities, evidenced by ancient writing and iconography.

The masculine symbol was associated with the spear and shield of Mars, god of war for both the Greeks and Romans, and consequently to the strength and physical appearance of the god as well.

The female symbol was instead associated with the goddess Venus: represented with a mirror in her hand. The object itself defines the characteristics of the divinity (known as the goddess of beauty and love), sensuality and fertility.

Throughout history, more generic connotation of masculine and feminine arised, which started during the Renaissance.

Venus, Mars and the Ancient  Giovanni da Udine, 1536

From the Renaissance period onwards, Venus and Mars have often been included in works of art. In a less explicit way, and making more and more use of allegories and symbols, which perhaps only the modern eye ; more attentive and witty, is able to grasp by observing the images of the two symbols, that then became - centuries later - true icons of gender identity and emblems of a Universal Language.

Ideograms of a Universal Alphabet

Writing with signs and symbols allows both the aggregation between people and communities and the dissemination of knowledge. Today more than ever- with the Internet, cell phones and new digital devices – it’s possible to synthesize a message or a concept with the help of a symbol, allowing us to communicate with a newfound simplicity beyond any linguistic and cultural barrier.

A symbol, compared to the written word, has always been and will always be more suggestive.

Visual communication is definitely one of the most globally shared forms of communication, and its cross-linguistic codification is an integral part of the scientific baggage of branding a brand.

♂️ and ♀️ are defined as "gender identity symbols" because they are commonly used to denote the sex of all forms of life, they are part of the universal symbol system because they are widely spread and are recognized worldwide.

It’s extraordinary how these symbols always generate renewed interest in human beings, perhaps because they involve a component that is often discriminating to an individual today: sexual identity.

The gender symbols "male" (a circle with a northeast-facing arrow above it) and "female" (a circle with a downward-facing cross below it) have been emblems of the LGBT community since the 1970s. One of the community's most common mantras is that "gender is a spectrum," meaning that there is not just a female gender and a male gender, but a continuous spectrum of genders between these two extremes.

The gender spectrum view describes the diverse experiences that many of us who do not identify with our assigned gender identity.

Freedom: the key ingredient

Alyssa Ashley has always seen gender identity as something that cannot be categorized and is completely free from any rule or prejudice.

Through the use of symbols, which have become an integral part of the logo and brand identity, Alyssa Ashley manifests the desire for union, inclusion and a desire to escape from those that are canons and diktats imposed by society.

In the world of fragrances there is no distinction between male and female, the accords commonly classified only "for him" are also ideal for her. The roles are no longer reversed but mixed and the distinction between the two sexes becomes increasingly blurred and almost insubstantial: perfumes are for everyone!

We can imagine two different ways of freely interpreting the same fragrance, through a tale of universal emotions in which we can all find ourselves.

Alyssa Ashley firmly believes that freedom is the key ingredient to look for, the freedom to let the public experience her creations following the personal sensitivity of each one. The fragrances follow the idea of unisex, which does not distinguish by gender, therefore perfectly adaptable to the people who wear them.

Sensations and emotions are the starting points for the creation of a fragrance that is then freely reinterpreted by women and men: like a true declaration of independence.