Ribbon Revelation

 

The Red Ribbon   AIDS Awareness Ribbon, or red ribbon, is commonly seen adorning jacket lapels and other articles of clothing as a symbol of solidarity and a commitment to the fight against AIDS.   The Ribbon Project was conceived in 1991 by Visual AIDS, a New York-based charity group of art professionals that aims to recognize and honor friends and colleagues who have died or are dying of AIDS. Visual AIDS encourages arts organizations, museums, commercial galleries, and AIDS support groups to commemorate those lost to AIDS, to create greater awareness of AIDS/HIV transmission, to publicize the needs of Persons With AIDS, and to call for greater funding of services and research. Inspired by the yellow ribbons honoring American soldiers of the Persian Gulf War, the color red was chosen for its "connection to blood and the idea of of passion -- not only anger, but love, like a valentine," as stated by Frank Moore of Visual AIDS.   Worn by host Jeremy Irons, the ribbon made its public debut at the 1991 Tony Awards, and soon became a popular and politically correct fashion statement for celebrities and other awards ceremonies. Because of this popularity, some activists worry that the ribbon has become simple lip service to AIDS causes; in one particular incident the First Lady Barbara Bush wore a red ribbon while sitting in the audience with her husband, but when she stood at the President's side during his speech, her ribbon was conspicuously missing.   However, the Ribbon Project remains a powerful force in spreading awareness of AIDS and stressing the need for further action and research of the disease. The sincerest hope for the Ribbon Project is that it will one day no longer be needed.

 

The Pink Ribbon   Inspired by the red ribbon, the pink ribbon became the symbol for breast cancer awareness. Although, like AIDS, breast cancer is certainly not an issue limited to the gay community, the statistics of breast cancer are historically higher in women who do not bear children. Consequently, for some lesbians breast cancer awareness and prevention is a particularly important issue.

 

The Grey Ribbon   Grey depicts the despair and gloom so prevalent in those affected by diabetes, silver (polished grey) represents the "lining" or the hope that there will soon be a cure.   It is essentially a symbol for increasing awareness by educating the public about the seriousness of diabetes; it represents an effort to create an effective and productive movement to find a cure for the disease.   The Grey Ribbon Campaign idea evolved from a discussion on the CompuServe Diabetes and Hypoglycemia Forum whose members are always looking for ways of educating the public and pushing for cure research.   Noting the successes of other ribbon campaigns this group realized that diabetics (and those who care about them) should have their own ribbon---with gray representing clouds (every cloud must have a silver lining) and with the stone symbolizing blood. Thus the Grey Ribbon was born.

 

The Blue Ribbon   The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and other civil liberties groups ask that a blue ribbon be displayed to show support for the essential human right of free speech, a fundamental building block of free society, affirmed by the U.S. Bill of Rights in 1791, and by the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. The Blue Ribbon will be a way to raise awareness of online censorship and freedom issues, from locally to globally.

 

The White Ribbon This ribbon, used mainly online, was created by Xavier Neptus, a personal survivor of attempted teen suicide himself. He was inspired to create this campaign after hearing Jason Bolton, a young man who was thrown out of a suburban Detroit high school for being gay, speak about gay youth suicide at the 1997 Lansing, Michigan Pride March. According to Neptus, the color white was chosen to represent clarity of thought and innocence of youth. Neptus quotes on his site that an American teenager attempts suicide every five ours because of difficulty dealing with the stresses of being gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. By spreading the word about this campaign and recommending professional resources, Neptus hopes to save other young people from suicide.