According to Ancient Greek philosophy, there are eight types of love. Ranging from the passionate and romantic, aka eros; to mania (obsessive love) and philia (deep friendship), these classifications remain present in our modern world. How we show, explore and distinguish love is still one of the main puzzles of humanity. What we say can sometimes only go so far, and what if we can’t be heard? Sometimes, gestures with our hands — joined together, fingers bent into shapes — are the best signals of love.
The first known depiction of a heart as a symbol of love is in a 13th century French manuscript; a young man holds a bulbous-shaped object in the direction of his beloved. The first hand heart sign is a little harder to originate, but it pervades pop culture. Taylor Swift elevated the global popularity of the gesture in the 2010’s, directing it to her fans. "The heart-hand symbol means something between 'I love you' and 'thank you,'" she told The New York Times in 2011. Recently, her boyfriend Travis Kelce celebrated a touchdown by flashing the heart symbol right back at her, cementing the significance of the signage.