Leah Mousseri - Week 7 - Awareness Ribbons

     Last week on Wednesday the 25th, our school asked everyone to wear pink to show support for those going through or having been through breast cancer. Many people wore pink, but some people even wore a pink ribbon on their clothes since it's the symbol of breast cancer awareness. This got me thinking about all the other colored ribbons I've seen people wear and their meanings. I always knew about awareness ribbons, but I wanted to learn more about their history and all the different meanings each color has.

    An awareness ribbon is essentially a colored ribbon that is folded in a loop and brings awareness to a lot of different disabilities, health issues, and other struggles people have. There are many different colors that each represent a countless amount of things such as pink for breast cancer, birth parents, and nursing mothers. I won't name all the meanings of every color, but the most common are blue for child abuse, pink for breast cancer, red for HIV/AIDS, and yellow for soldiers. People usually have these ribbons as accessories on their clothing, cars, or bags to show their support and bring awareness to some of these causes. Most people who do have these ribbons are victims or know someone who is a victim of the causes they're bringing awareness to, but there are specific days, such as breast cancer awareness day, where many people wear these ribbons to show their support.

    Historically, the awareness ribbon first took root during the medieval ages when women would give knights a token of affection and love. There is a theory, with little evidence to support it, that the ribbons first gained popularity in the United States during the Civil War when women would wear yellow ribbons to show support for loved ones in the military. While this may not have been the birth of awareness ribbons it was the first time that yellow ribbons were used in the U.S., specifically by Penney Laingen in 1979. Laingen tied a yellow ribbon to a tree outside her house in support of her husband Ambassador Bruce Laingen who was taken hostage. Her inspiration for this act was a song created in 1973 titled "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" with it centering around a man returning home from prison and feeling anxious about his family accepting him with loving arms. Many people have interpreted this story to also relate to soldiers returning home from war and saying that we should welcome them home with open arms.

Do you have a specific cause that you show support for?