During a resurgence in popularity in 2003, gel bracelets became the subject of a widespread
urban legend linking them to a supposed sex game, explaining their popularity among young teenagers. They were subsequently dubbed "
sex bracelets". Different colors of bracelet supposedly represented different sex acts, indicating either that that wearer had performed or was willing to perform them. In the most common version of the legend, the wearer would perform the indicated sex act with anyone who was able to break a bracelet they were wearing. The legend became popular in 2003 in the US; by the end of the decade, when there was a second wave of media coverage of the legend, it had spread worldwide. The sex bracelet urban legend can be traced back to the fall of 2003. An entry for "shag band" was posted to
Urban Dictionary in September; by October newspapers in North Carolina and Florida reported on schools banning the bracelets, and
Time magazine ran an article on the bracelets. In October 2003, the rumors were prominent enough in Alachua Elementary School in
Gainesville, Florida that the principal banned the bracelets to avert disruption and inappropriate comments about them. They were subsequently banned in other schools in Florida and elsewhere. The British press reported on the supposed meanings of the band's colors in 2005. 's
Loyalty oath bracelet. In 2007, the consequence of not signing a loyalty oath was "lose my job".|alt= Similar stories surfaced in the British media in 2009, in which the bracelets were allegedly nicknamed
shag bands. Similar stories circulated widely in Brazil during the 2009/2010 summer, where the bracelets were referred to as
pulseiras do sexo. In March 2010, a 13-year-old girl in Brazil was raped by three teenage boys after one of them snatched the bracelet she was wearing. The police stated that the crime was motivated by the use of sex bracelets. Different versions of the legend associate different colors with sexual acts (similar to the
handkerchief code). For example, purple might be associated with kissing, red with
lap dancing, and black with intercourse. Some versions say the sexual activity occurred at parties held for the purpose, making them similar to contemporary rumors of "
rainbow parties", a gathering where girls wearing varying shades of
lipstick supposedly take turns
fellating their male counterparts, leaving an array of colors on their penises. Other tales of teenage
sex parties have circulated at various times.
Folklorist Barbara Mikkelson of
snopes.com associates the "sex bracelet" stories with similar ones of the past. In the 1970s, pull tabs from
aluminum cans and labels from
beer bottles were supposedly considered "sex coupons" and obligated any girl presented with one to sleep with the bearer. By the 1990s, the rumors shifted to include an assortment of plastic items, including some worn as bracelets. According to Mikkelson, there is likely little truth behind the stories, and the vast majority of teenagers who contact her site express shock and disappointment that so many have believed them. The response to this bracelet was largely critical, with Natasha Burton of
Cosmopolitan saying she doubted men would look for such a bracelet given that she was still approached even while wearing her
engagement ring. The staff of
Glamour were reportedly uncomfortable with the concept, and Eliana Dockterman of
Time magazine even compared it to wearing one's
OkCupid profile on their
T-shirt. == See also ==