Does the symbol of a gear represent anything?
Asked by
Waffle (
248
)
February 24th, 2009
I’m thinking of a tattoo design and I would like it to be based around the shape of a gear. Since a tattoo is a huge dead (at least to me) and it’s mostly permanent, I want to make sure a gear doesn’t represent anything racist or hate-related like a Swastika or Iron Cross.
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17 Answers
a huge dead? i don’t understand…
oooooh, deed? you mean ‘deed’ right?
Anyway, I think gears are cool. I have an owl tattoo planned made out of gears, pistons, bolts etc. Basically a mechanical owl.
I’m guessing ‘deal’, too. As for the actual question, this is the only info I found on it:
“The Gear Represents the Industrial Society
The gear, symbolic of the industrial society, denotes the interdependence and co?operation of the individual working together with labor and management for the betterment of mankind.”
That description pertains to a certain organization’s use of the gear as a symbol, and probably is not applicable in a broader sense.
Other than the industrial imagery, I am unaware of any symbolism pertaining to a gear
@elijahsuicide – sounds like Bubo from Clash of the Titans
I think Gears are also largely symbolic of time. Like the old clocks, watches, etc. before digital happened.
@fireside aw that’s cute! Is that a movie? That looks more like a robot, my owl will be extremely detailed, every inside component visible.
It’s the symbol for Rotary International and at least one union. Sounds like a cool tat idea to me, though!
@elijahsuicide – yes, Clash of the Titans was a movie about the Greek gods and myths. The owl was a gift from Hera to Perseus, if I remember correctly.
Wow, this movie came out in 1981
I was thinking of a gear for a few reasons.
1) I interned at a machine shop for 1 1/2 years and loved it there
2) I’m fascinated with mechanics.
3) I know they could be symbolic of time and, being a physics and metaphysics geek, I feel it would be pretty damn cool.
4) I’m into steam-punk stuff.
By the way, I meant to say “huge deal,” not “huge dead.” :]
Thanks for all the help
Now a wooden shoe in the gears, that is sabot-age.
I don’t see anything wrong with it.
Go Execute All Radishes….
(No Radishes were harmed in the making of this quip)
Settings on an Apple product
I would only assume a gear would remind people of Industry or if they are geeky kind of a Steampunk tribute. Neither of those are horribly bad.
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