The best fast food places have some sort of slogan or image that everyone associates with their restaurants and food. Think about it: Wendy’s has the redhead with pigtails (Wendy!), Taco Bell has their signature bright colors, KFC has Colonel Sanders, Chipotle has that burrito wrapped in foil that makes everyone hungry even though it’s just a drawing, and Subway has their simple slogan of “Eat Fresh.” But it’s probably safe to say that none of these are as instantly recognizable as the famous McDonald’s arches. Those golden arches are known around the world — not just this country — and they signify hot fries and classic fast food.
But have you ever wondered where the arches came from or what they mean? Like, is it just supposed to be a giant, slightly misshapen “M,” or is there something more happening in this backstory? Well, apparently, there’s something else going on behind the scenes when it comes to McDonald’s signature arches… according to the internet, at least. There might be a hidden McDonald’s arches meaning that you’ve never considered before, and it could change the way you think of this fast food restaurant. We don’t even know what to think about it at this point!
Basically, there’s a new theory out there that the McDonald’s arches have a hidden dirty meaning.
Again, you might think that the arches just symbolize a giant “M,” which would make sense. But according to Reader’s Digest, it could be a whole lot more, well, sexual than that.
Here’s the story: the Golden Arches have been around for a long time. Actually, they weren’t even always part of the logo. The Daily Meal says that in the early days, they were just an architectural feature that made the building look more interesting.
There was an arch on each side of the building and they weren’t connected. Over the years, though, the shape morphed into what it is today.
But in the 1960s, McDonald’s executives were thinking about getting rid of them. They didn’t, obviously, and that’s because they hired design consultant Louis Cheskin.
Cheskin was a fan of the teachings of Sigmund Freud, so it’s not shocking that he was convinced that the McDonald’s arches had a Freudian double meaning. He said that the shape of them subconsciously reminds people of, uh, a huge set of boobs.
In the book Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal, Cheskin writes that the arches symbolize “mother McDonald’s breasts.”
His idea was that this “maternal” logo encouraged people to eat at McDonald’s instead of, you know, making dinner. Like a comfort thing?
Whether you think that’s crazy or not, it’s clear that it was enough for McDonald’s executives: the Golden Arches stuck around. And they will probably never go anywhere at this point.
On Reddit, users kind of… agreed? User barnyThunderSlap said, “I mean… who doesn’t feel something when they see those Golden Arches glowing in the distance?” Uh, maybe it’s just hunger?
But apparently, this is something people have thought for a while! Just look at this tweet from 2012:
Mcdonalds arches look like big yellow boobs @aliiicooke
— benny (@Schlimm_Shady_) January 12, 2012
Last year, someone thought that the upside down arches for International Women’s Day looked like boobs. We don’t see that one!
McDonalds is flipping the arches upside down to celebrate women because when they do that it looks like boobs.
— α geek (@alfageeek) March 8, 2018
But a few other people have said something similar. Really makes you think…
I'm sorry women, I'm just not a good representative for us. I really, really thought the upside down golden arches @McDonalds were boobs. #NeverConsideredW #InternationalWomensDay #SometimesIfailAtFemale
— Stacy E Stevenson (@TheRealStacyES) March 8, 2018
And in 2009, someone said they learned the arches represent boobs in school. What?!
Today in school i learnd mcdonalds golden arches represtents boobs. Which rep food. I learn something everyday...
— Lucie Pohl (@lucie_phl) December 1, 2009
So what’s the truth? In all likelihood, it seems like the Golden Arches came about kind of by accident, and then stuck around. So even though Cheskin thinks they represent boobs, that doesn’t seem to have been the intention from the start. They probably represent, well, nothing.
Not as interesting or fun, but oh well! You can always pretend Cheskin’s theory is the real deal.
