2008 Woodie Awards
Messages Hidden: Some bracelets are more than trends
By: Lindsey Kamrath
Issue date: 3/10/05 Section: Features
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Pop stars during the '80s such as Madonna and Cyndi Lauper sparked a revolutionary trend by surrounding their wrists with rainbows of rubber bracelets.
Today, bracelets can symbolize anything from sexual activities to cancer cures.
However, the idea that bracelets can convey certain messages is not new to the fashion world. According to www.rubberbracelets.com, rubber jewelry was a symbol of nonconformity that arose from the punk scene.
According to the site: "Punks would put black rubber o-rings around their wrists and wear them as bracelets in the late '70s and early '80s. They represented anti-jewelry, as rubber has practically no value (compared to traditional jewelry materials) or status."
"Jelly bracelets," or thin, round, rubber bracelets that come in a variety of colors, opaque and translucent, emerged in the '80s as a fashion statement. Women and girls would sport hundreds of these bracelets at a time.
The wrist-to-elbow bracelet fashion phased out until the late '90s and 2000s, when the fad regenerated through pop stars like Avril Lavigne.
However, somewhere throughout their history, the jelly bracelets began to take on sexual symbolism. Commonly referred to as "sex bracelets," "sexlets," or "snap bracelets," each color is sometimes used to depict a certain sexual activity.
According to www.sex-bracelets.com, the bracelets are sometimes used as either a token for sex or a depiction of past sexual experiences. The web-site states: "sex bracelets are inexpensive and colorful jelly bracelets. They sometimes signal, based on their color, willingness to perform a certain sex act. They are sometimes used in games in which sexual favors are exchanged."
In one particular game called "Snap," wearers of the bracelets challenge another person to snap the bracelet off their wrist, resulting in a sexual IOU.
"One person attempts to break or 'snap' a sex bracelet off of another person. The broken bracelet then becomes a 'sex coupon' that the snapper can exchange for the sex act signified by the bracelet's color. It is cheating if you simply pull the bracelet off the arm without breaking it, or use a knife or scissors to cut it," according to the site.
Today, bracelets can symbolize anything from sexual activities to cancer cures.
However, the idea that bracelets can convey certain messages is not new to the fashion world. According to www.rubberbracelets.com, rubber jewelry was a symbol of nonconformity that arose from the punk scene.
According to the site: "Punks would put black rubber o-rings around their wrists and wear them as bracelets in the late '70s and early '80s. They represented anti-jewelry, as rubber has practically no value (compared to traditional jewelry materials) or status."
"Jelly bracelets," or thin, round, rubber bracelets that come in a variety of colors, opaque and translucent, emerged in the '80s as a fashion statement. Women and girls would sport hundreds of these bracelets at a time.
The wrist-to-elbow bracelet fashion phased out until the late '90s and 2000s, when the fad regenerated through pop stars like Avril Lavigne.
However, somewhere throughout their history, the jelly bracelets began to take on sexual symbolism. Commonly referred to as "sex bracelets," "sexlets," or "snap bracelets," each color is sometimes used to depict a certain sexual activity.
According to www.sex-bracelets.com, the bracelets are sometimes used as either a token for sex or a depiction of past sexual experiences. The web-site states: "sex bracelets are inexpensive and colorful jelly bracelets. They sometimes signal, based on their color, willingness to perform a certain sex act. They are sometimes used in games in which sexual favors are exchanged."
In one particular game called "Snap," wearers of the bracelets challenge another person to snap the bracelet off their wrist, resulting in a sexual IOU.
"One person attempts to break or 'snap' a sex bracelet off of another person. The broken bracelet then becomes a 'sex coupon' that the snapper can exchange for the sex act signified by the bracelet's color. It is cheating if you simply pull the bracelet off the arm without breaking it, or use a knife or scissors to cut it," according to the site.