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Overview
What Do the Colored Rubber Bracelets Mean?Rubber bracelets have bounced onto the fashion scene, worn by everyone from athletes to school kids with professionals in between. One of the most obvious aspects of these loose-fitting and popular bracelets are their colors, which can often be symbolic of a message or cause the person wearing the bracelet wants to promote. The cuff-like rubber bracelets carry a lot of different symbolism, but even the thinner, jelly bracelets have their own code of colors.
Reds/Purples
Red rubber bracelets have a host of meanings, ranging from support of the British Heart Foundation to the American Red Cross and Canadian Blood Services. On the sporty and political end, red supports the Boston Red Sox and Republicans. Red can also denote child abuse awareness. Move into the pinks and awareness shifts to breast cancer, children's and teenage cancer as well as diabetes. Lavender brings support to epilepsy, while darker purples show awareness of domestic violence, animal rescue, pancreatic cancer and organizations such as CARE/Border and the National Kidney Federation.
Yellows/White
Lance Armstrong's foundation of Livestrong is the most common meaning of yellow rubber bracelets, but they can also denote support for liberal democrats and cures for testicular cancer. Amber bracelets support Cambridge United while orange brings awareness for leukemia. White shows support for the group Make Poverty History or can symbolize a Jedi Knight from the movie "Star Wars."
Blues/Greens
Prostrate cancer, autism and fighting hunger are some causes symbolized by light blue. Blue and white show support for tsunami relief. Green bracelets carry a wide range of meanings, including rainforest preservation and other ecological campaigns, legalizing marijuana, supporting the Boston Celtics and hunting. Green also means the person is fond of the U.S. Army, organ donation, promoting awareness of ovarian cancer and kidney disease. Darker green promotes better hearing, namely through the American Academy of Audiology Foundation.
Multicolored
Rainbow rubber bracelets stick with the common rainbow theme of gay marriage or gay pride and are also used for peace campaigns. Red, white and blue bracelets scream out to "Support our troops," as does those done up in camouflage. Some of the colors may also be stamped with any number of words, phrases or slogans that will override or add to the meaning of the color.
Jelly Bracelets
Another type of rubber bracelet is the jelly, or jell bracelets, which are thin bands worn mainly by school kids. Urban legend has it that those bracelets carry a sexual meaning with their colors. Yellow bracelets mean those wearing them have engaged in hugging. Purple means they have advanced to kissing. Red denotes lap dancing and blue hues say oral sex. Black means the people have gone all the way and engaged in intercourse.
