We erroneously used a male symbol instead of a female symbol. — Express (@WaPoExpress) January 5, 2017 And quickly after that, an image of how the cover should have appeared: ...

In some cases, the entire person becomes a representation of the sex organ if the person pictures himself flying. Other less obvious male symbols include reptiles, especially snakes, and fish ...

We erroneously used a male symbol instead of a female symbol. — Express (@WaPoExpress) January 5, 2017. This is how the cover should have looked. We apologize for the mistake.

During a 1999 interview with Larry King, Prince said the goal was for people around the world to look at the symbol and think of him. And he did just that, according to Tschetter.