Awareness ribbon

Last updated
A person wearing a red ribbon to raise awareness and support of AIDS Riban SIDA a.jpg
A person wearing a red ribbon to raise awareness and support of AIDS

Awareness ribbons are symbols meant to show support or raise consciousness for a cause. Different colors and patterns are associated with different issues.

Contents

Yellow ribbons, in the United States, are used to show that a close family member is abroad in military service. In Russia, Belarus and other countries of the former Soviet Union, gold and black striped ribbons are used to celebrate the Allies' victory in World War II (9 May). In Spain since 2017, a yellow ribbon is a symbol of solidarity with the 2017–18 Spanish constitutional crisis in provisional detention.

Of the uses of ribbons to draw awareness to health issues, perhaps the best-known is the pink ribbon for support of those with breast cancer. Other health and social concerns which have adopted colored ribbons include Alzheimer's disease and pancreatic cancer (purple), HIV/AIDS (red), mental health and mental illness (green), suicide prevention (yellow), and brain disorder or disability (silver).

Political use of ribbons include orange ribbons to commemorate the Orange Revolution in Ukraine.

Other ornaments, including flowers (of specific kinds), bracelets, and badges may serve essentially the same purpose of drawing attention to a cause. These include poppies, rosettes and wristbands.

History

The first ribbons that were represented as meaningful objects in history were the tokens given to knights during the Middle Ages in Europe. The yellow ribbon came from the Puritan Army during the English Civil War. From there, it spread to the Americas, where the Army of the United States became associated with it. A yellow ribbon was mentioned in a marching song, sung by the military in the United States. In the year 1917 George A. Norton copyrighted the song for the first time. The title of the song was "Round Her Neck She Wears a Yeller Ribbon". In the 1940s the song was rewritten by several musicians.[ citation needed ]

Yellow ribbon marking a tree 2008-08-28 Yellow ribbon marking a tree.jpg
Yellow ribbon marking a tree

In the early 1970s, the song "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" was released. Based on this song, Penney Laingen, wife of Iran hostage Bruce Laingen, was the first who used the ribbon as an awareness symbol. She tied yellow ribbons around trees to illustrate desire for her husband coming home. Her friends and family members followed the trend. As many individuals were able to see this message, the "ribbon became a medium."[ citation needed ]

During the 1979–1981 spate of child murders in Atlanta, green lapel ribbons began to be worn to show solidarity. They were of a different form than later awareness ribbons, being typically bow-shaped. [1]

In May 1986, the AIDS Faith Alliance, later to be known as Christian Action on AIDS, [2] held an open conference on AIDS at Notting Hill Gate in London, supported by the Archbishop of Canterbury and other United Kingdom Christian church leaders. Rainbow Ribbons were given to everybody attending. The purpose of Christian Action on AIDS, an official Church of England charity whose founder/chairman was Barnaby Miln, was to get the worldwide Christian churches involved in the crisis that was AIDS. The Christian Action on AIDS folded in 1991.[ citation needed ]

In 1991, the red ribbon was created by the Visual AIDS Artists Caucus, [3] a New York–based group of artists and AIDS activists. They wished to create a visual symbol to demonstrate compassion for people living with AIDS and their caregivers. The color red was chosen for its "connection to blood and the idea of passion"—both anger and love. [4] During the 1991 Tony Awards, actor Jeremy Irons wore the bright red ribbon pinned on his chest. Though the symbolism of the ribbon was not allowed to be discussed on air, the media and public noticed the eye-catching ribbon, and its popularity grew overnight. The red ribbon was purposefully not copyrighted in the United States, to allow it to be worn and used widely as a symbol in the fight against AIDS. The year 1992 was declared by The New York Times as "The Year of the Ribbon."

Today the red ribbon is an internationally recognized symbol of AIDS awareness and a design icon. It has led the way for many other color ribbons and awareness projects.

The Unicode character standard has a "reminder ribbon" character (🎗️) at code point U+1F397. [5] No color is specified for it, and platforms vary in its presentation; it can appear yellow, blue, or red depending on the device or software in which it is viewed. [6]

On social media, some users will add visual effects to their user icons as an "awareness_avatar", in a similar way to wearing a physical ribbon.

Purpose and usage

Ribbons can be used simply to raise awareness of a disease or signify that an individual has been personally affected by that disease or condition. People often place ribbons around college campuses, throughout neighborhoods, and in public business places so that others can see them and realize they are not alone in their battle. Ribbon colors are often associated with one or more conditions but there are several sources that define what color relates to which condition. They also provide an outline of the dates in which that ribbon is significant. [7] Ribbons are often promoted to signify the prevalence of a specific disease or condition.

There are ribbon colors that also associate with animals and organizations that work with animals. [8] The Animal Legal Defense Fund fights for the rights of all animals alike while displaying an orange ribbon. Animal abuse awareness is also well known for its use of the purple ribbon. [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Color blindness</span> Decreased ability to see color or color differences

Color blindness or color vision deficiency (CVD) is the decreased ability to see color or differences in color. Some people with color blindness have major impairment: difficulty in reading traffic lights and some academic activities, discomfort in bright environments, decreased visual acuity, etc. However, most issues are minor, and people with colorblindness automatically develop adaptations and coping mechanisms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red</span> Primary color

Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondary color in the CMYK color model, and is the complementary color of cyan. Reds range from the brilliant yellow-tinged scarlet and vermillion to bluish-red crimson, and vary in shade from the pale red pink to the dark red burgundy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Logo</span> Graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition

A logo is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or to include the text of the name that it represents as in a wordmark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rainbow flag</span> Flag with the colors of the rainbow

A rainbow flag is a multicolored flag consisting of the colors of the rainbow. The designs differ, but many of the colors are based on the seven spectral colors of the visible light spectrum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World AIDS Day</span> International day on 1 December

World AIDS Day, designated on 1 December every year since 1988, is an international day dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection and mourning those who've died of the disease. The acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a life-threatening condition caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The HIV virus attacks the immune system of the patient and reduces its resistance to other diseases. Government and health officials, non-governmental organizations, and individuals around the world observe the day, often with education on AIDS prevention and control.

Color or colour is the visual perceptual property corresponding in humans to the categories called red, yellow, blue, green, etc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pink</span> Pale tint of red

Pink is the colour of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, sensitivity, tenderness, sweetness, childhood, femininity, and romance. A combination of pink and white is associated with innocence, whereas a combination of pink and black links to eroticism and seduction. In the 21st century, pink is seen as a symbol of femininity, though this has not always been true; in the 1920s, pink was seen as a color that reflected masculinity.

The yellow ribbon is used for various purposes. It may be worn on a person, placed on a vehicle, around a tree, or for a neck tie.

The blue ribbon is a symbol of high quality. The association comes from The Blue Riband, a prize awarded for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by passenger liners and, prior to that from Cordon Bleu, which referred to the blue ribbon worn by the French knightly Order of the Holy Spirit. The spelling blue riband is still encountered in most English-speaking countries, but in the United States, the term was altered to blue ribbon, and ribbons of this color came to be awarded for first place in certain athletic or other competitive endeavours. It also may be applied to distinguished members of a group or commission who have convened to address a situation or problem; the usual usage is "blue ribbon commission" or "blue-ribbon panel".

The green ribbon can have a variety of symbolic meanings.

The orange ribbon is a symbol adopted for a very wide variety of uses in different places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red ribbon</span> Awareness colored symbol

The red ribbon, as an awareness ribbon, is used as the symbol for the solidarity of people living with HIV/AIDS, and for the awareness and prevention of drug abuse and drunk driving.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red Ribbon Express</span>

Red Ribbon Express is an HIV/AIDS awareness campaign train by the Indian Railways. The motto of the Red Ribbon Express is "Embarking on the journey of life".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bruce Laingen</span> American diplomat (1922–2019)

Lowell Bruce Laingen was an American diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to Malta from 1977 to 1979. Laingen is best known for having been the most senior American official held hostage during the Iran hostage crisis, while serving as the chargé d'affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Egg decorating in Slavic culture</span> Tradition

The tradition of egg decoration in Slavic cultures originated in pagan times, and was transformed by the process of religious syncretism into the Christian Easter egg. Over time, many new techniques were added. Some versions of these decorated eggs have retained their pagan symbolism, while others have added Christian symbols and motifs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheer, Dorothy, Cheer!</span>

Cheer, Dorothy, Cheer! is a non-profit organization based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The organization was founded by three gay men in 2002 to promote diversity, raise HIV/AIDS awareness, and raise money for other non-profit organizations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rainbow flag (LGBT)</span> Symbol of the LGBT community

The rainbow flag or pride flag is a symbol of LGBT pride and LGBT social movements. The colors reflect the diversity of the LGBT community and the spectrum of human sexuality and gender. Using a rainbow flag as a symbol of LGBT pride began in San Francisco, California, but eventually became common at LGBT rights events worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Crayola crayons</span>

Since the introduction of Crayola drawing crayons by Binney & Smith in 1903, more than two hundred distinctive colors have been produced in a wide variety of assortments. Crayola became such a hit because the company figured out a way to inexpensively combine paraffin wax with safe pigments. The line has undergone several major revisions in its history, notably in 1935, 1949, 1958, and 1990. Numerous specialty crayons have also been produced, complementing the basic Crayola assortment.

References

  1. "Philadelphian inspires sea of green ribbons for Atlanta's victims". The New York Times. 15 March 1981. Archived from the original on 27 June 2019. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
  2. The Times, London, Saturday September 20, 1986, Court and Social
  3. CNN, "Red ribbon: Celebrating 20 years of the iconic AIDS symbol"
  4. Familiar Studio, familiar-studio.com. "The Red Ribbon Project — Visual AIDS". Visualaids.org. Archived from the original on 2013-12-12. Retrieved 2014-01-29.
  5. "Miscellaneous Symbols and Pictographs" (PDF). Unicode Consortium. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2020-12-06. Retrieved 2018-06-20.
  6. "Reminder Ribbon". Emojipedia. Archived from the original on 2018-06-20. Retrieved 2018-06-20.
  7. "Awareness Ribbons Chart: Color and Meaning of Awareness Ribbon Causes". Disabled World. Archived from the original on 2013-09-02. Retrieved 2018-09-19.
  8. "Animal Legal Defense Fund -". Animal Legal Defense Fund. Archived from the original on 2018-09-19. Retrieved 2018-09-19.
  9. "Animal Abuse Awareness". SupportStore.com. Archived from the original on 2018-09-19. Retrieved 2018-09-19.

Further reading