Male and female signs as subscript in plot

Hello,

I'd like to add labels to my plot that include a male or female symbol as
subscript.
I'm working in Windows Vista and R 3.0.0.
I am able to add the male symbol to the plot as regular text (NOT as
subscript), e.g. with:
mtext("Male\u2642")
This displays the word "Male" followed by the male symbol on the plot.

But "\u2642" does not work when I try to put it as a subscript.
For example,
mtext(expression("Male"["\u2217"]))
successfully adds an asterisk as a subscript after the word "Male".
However,
mtext(expression("Male"["\u2642"]))
displays the word "Male" followed by a subscript of "<U+2642>", i.e. the
symbol is not displayed.

How can I make the male symbol show as a subscript?

Many thanks for any suggestions!

Cheers,
Emily

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