l recently noticed that the volvo logo is the male gender symbol. Just curious why. Anybody know?

Volvo means ' l Roll' in Latin, & the circle/arrow logo is the conventional map sysmbol for steel (which for a long time was Sweden is most famous industry). That circle/arrow symbol is not arbitray, it represents the shield & spear of Mars, also the alchemical symbol for iron.

At the same time as VOLVO was reactivated, the ancient chemical symbol for iron, a circle with an arrow pointing diagonally upwards to the right, was adopted as a logotype.
This is one of the oldest & most common ideograms in Western culture & originally stood for the planet Mars in the Roman Empire. Because it also symbolised the Roman god of warfare, Mars, & the masculine gender (as every bird-watcher can tell), an early relationship was established between the Mars symbol & the metal from which most weapons were made at the time, iron.
As such, the ideogram has long been the symbol of the iron industry, not least in Sweden. The iron badge on the car was supposed to take up this symbolism & create associations with the honoured traditions of the Swedish iron industry: steel & strength with properties such as safety, quality & durability. The new car also got its name VOLVO written in its own typeface, Egyptian.
Today, the iron logo also stands for a brand that radiates modern & exciting design & has a strong emotive connection with the customers.

The logotype was complemented with a diagonal band running across the radiator, already on the first car in April 1927. The band was originally a technical necessity to keep the chrome badge in place but it gradually developed as more of a decorative symbol. It is still found across the grille of every Volvo vehicle. Now, however, u will also find the iron symbol in a slightly modernized form in the centre of the steering wheel & the wheel hubs, & in all communications material such as advertisements, brochures, stationery, Internet sites, merchandise & so on.

It shows strength and masculinity.