Do Middle Schoolers' Bracelets Show Off More Than Style?

by Brett Singer (Subscribe to Brett Singer's posts) Sep 15th 2009 6:00AM

Categories: Teens & tweens, In The News, Fashion & Clothing

Schools worry that kids are using bracelets to advertise sexual activity. Credit: Jupiterimages

Most parents know that life gets more difficult as the kids get older. But did you know that sex starts as early as middle school?

That's what the principal of the Angevine Middle School in Lafayette, Colo., thinks. He e-mailed parents and asked them to tell their children to leave the bracelets at home.

Bracelets? What's that about?

After speaking to students at the school, the principal and some of the teachers were concerned that the bracelets had "hidden meanings." They asked parents to tell their kids to leave the bling at home to avoid creating a "distraction to the learning environment."

So what's the fuss?

According to MomLogic, "For years, teens have been playing a game called Snap, in which boys try to break bracelets off girls. Different colored bracelets represent different sexual acts, which if broken, are supposed to be performed by the girls."

So will leaving the bracelets at home keep the kids' minds off of S-E-X? Maybe. If what the teachers found out about the bracelets is true, one can imagine that they would be quite a distraction indeed. On the other hand, why are boys running up to girls and pulling any article of clothing off of their bodies? Perhaps telling them to keep their grubby hands to themselves -- or suffer a week of detention -- would be another solution.

What do you think? Are the bracelets a problem? Or is the school overreacting?

Comments (25)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

lori 9-15-2009 @ 8:33AM

This story is bunk. I've a daughter in middle school and she's close with me. She tells me about a lot of the crap that goes on in her school, but the bracelet thing just doesn't exist. I love how the story covers itself by using the word "may." In other words, the author is just speculating on rumors.

seximuneka 9-15-2009 @ 9:11AM

Actually its not a rumor these bracelets do stand for sexual flavor that are to be done when it gets popped, but its true that just because they get popped the deed will not be done.

delayna 9-15-2009 @ 2:05PM

it does exsist i just got out of middle school
and its with jelly bracelates (i dont get any the smell of them gives me a horrible headache) but the only color i can remember is black and if a guy pops it they have to do missionary sex but just bcuz u wear it dont mean you have to play the game :)

OCmama 9-20-2009 @ 12:24PM

I just spoke to my 8th grade daughter and she confirms it. She says that yes, kids in school do play this game with the "jelly bracelets". She says the kids call them sex bracelets.
What I found a little more disturbing was when she was going through the meanings with me ("this color means hug, this color means make out"), she let me know that it wasn't just boys doing it to girls, but other girls doing it to girls.
She said, "Gosh Mom, haven't you ever heard of lesbians?"
Oh that's just great.....

Pyrohottie7647 10-01-2009 @ 5:50PM

The braclet thing DOES exsist. We did it when I was in middle school and that was not to long ago. You wore them and though boys snapped them not all the girls did that. So its either your daughter isn't telling you, shes not "popular" enough to be included, or shes just a good girl who doesn't concern herself with that.

Lenore 9-15-2009 @ 8:46AM

I am 20 years old, and when I was in high school, we DID have said bracelets. Many of the students wore them, including myself. Now, some of the students did use them as a form of "sexual advertisement", but I wore mine for the simple style factor. I remember a boy breaking one of my bracelets and then demanding that I have sex with him. I refused and informed him that he owed me a new bracelet; and that if he wasn't such an obnoxious pig, he might be able to get a girl. Bottom line, it depends on your child, so ask your children. Just remember that, as with most teens and pre-teens, demanding that they or forcing them to do something, often results in rebellion; because kids like to believe they are grown, when really, they aren't.

lori 9-15-2009 @ 9:47AM

I am double your age and then some, and I can tell you there have ALWAYS been secret sexual games in middle and high school. If there are some places that use these bracelets for a sex game, it's nothing new. There has been spin the bottle, 7 minutes in heaven, there were pop can rings... and post office before that. And like I said, if a girl really is wearing bracelets to advertise herself for sex, then the parents have MUCH bigger problems than just the bracelets themselves.
The bottom line of this story is how we adults want to delude ourselves into thinking there's an easy fix to an age-old dilemma.

lori 9-15-2009 @ 8:46AM

The kind of funny thing about this is our own hysteria. I mean, these bracelets got to be popular for all kind of causes and meanings. Lance Armstrong was wearing one that said something like "courage," right? And then there were the WWJD bracelets... that supposedly reminded people to ask "What Would Jesus Do?" So now we're supposed to believe that all those WWJD and "courage" bracelets were nothing more than an adolescent mating dance? If a girl is willing to put the so-called "intercourse" bracelet on her wrist, trust me, her parent taking it back off isn't going to stop her from having sex anyway.

SARAH BROWN 9-15-2009 @ 10:15AM

if the schools would worry more about education..instead of braclets..sex at school has been going on since the beginning...girls flirt..boy flirt...sex!!! they are going to have it know matter what the school does...let the parents take care of

SARAH BROWN 9-15-2009 @ 10:15AM

Lakes 9-15-2009 @ 10:19AM

I am 60 and am in full agreement with Lori. If their going to sleep around and be sexually active a braclet isn't going to make a difference. No different now then when I was a teenager. And believe me most parents are the last to know, they either are nieve enough to think not my kid, or they as with many other things their doing turn their head and pretend its not happening as in most of the cases. What they don't know or pretend to let their kid think they don't know they don't have to handle. Trouble is most parents think some things are cute when their not or think its funny to say about her eight year old, isn't that cute she or he has a little girlfriend or boyfriend. And some think its ok to let their young kids wear makeup, nylons or dress inapropreitly is a faze, well I was always told put a for sale sign on something long enough you will eventually get a buyer/
.

Misty 9-15-2009 @ 10:26AM

If they would stop teaching abstinence in school and started focusing on REAL sex education there wouldn't be as big of an issue. Students would be more aware of the consequences of making poor decisions.

mommiedear 9-15-2009 @ 10:45AM

I think it is a dangerous game to be played. When I was in school I barely wore any jewelry because I was sporty and didn't want to be bothered with it but there were plenty of others who DID. I didn't feel this was some sinister sign and really it wasn't in those days...now things have gotten much more serious. I think if the girls are wearing bracelets then they want to be involved in the game. The school can ask them to leave the bracelets at home but will it stop the 'game'. I doubt it will. It is up to the parents and mostly the kids to draw the line and stand behind it. I feel sad and disgusted that intimacy and love have become colored bracelets on the arms of many young women...very sad... pm www.truuconfessions.com many moms have spoken up and out on the issue.

Alicia 9-18-2009 @ 5:20PM

This is BS. This all started when I was a freshman in high school (I'm a sophomore in college now) and even then, it was mostly a joke. I wore the bracelets and any guy who tried to snap them or expected something when they did got a nice solid wack up the back of the head. I promise you that's exactly what most of these girls are doing, too. Sure, some will have sex, but it has nothing to do with bracelets. Kids will do who and what they please.

Christa Irr 9-15-2009 @ 4:54PM

i know this is true.. im a junior in high school now and it stil happens and the fact i go to a catholic high school its still true. i dont care who you are or anything whether you like to think of your kids doing that its true.. i dont play that game but i do have friends that do..

This school made a good move to have the bracelet thing stopped but at the same time it wont stop out of school or at all..

Melissa 9-15-2009 @ 12:47PM

I'm 30, and I am also in agreement with Lori....if they are going to have sex, a bracelet means nothing. We used to wear plastic bracelets all the way up our arms, and it meant nothing, it was a fashion thing. And guess what, only about 10 percent of us graduated still virgins....no bracelets needed.

Heather 9-15-2009 @ 7:02PM

We had those bracelets in school and the mean the same thing then as they do now. Nothing, except girls like jewlery. They like dangly earings, sparkly stuff, frilly things on the end of thier pencils, cool erasers in the shape of Hello Kitty, pokemon ect ect.

Lilathe 9-17-2009 @ 1:24PM

Just google "jelly bracelets" or "sex bracelets". My daughter and her friends were wearing them until I found handwritten lists of all the "sex acts" they were supposed to perform when the bracelets were snapped. So the girls were wearing them at least with the intent of having the boys think about the various sex acts. I was shocked because this was in middle school. My daughter had been home-schooled and this was within her first 4 weeks of attending public school. I was not aware of just how sexualized public school was until that point.

My 11 year old son has a pregnant 11 year old girl in his class this year. My 11 year old can barely pick up after himself, just how in the heck is this 11 year old child going to raise a baby?

Melody 9-19-2009 @ 1:49AM

They had this superstition when I was in school as well. It was the most riddiculous thing I had ever heard. I wore the bracelets because I liked how they looked. I could get them in mass quantities at hot topic, and they looked particularly great with fishnet and other "goth" items. I however, also stayed a virgin until I was a month away from being 19 years old. Our principals tried to ban the bracelets, trying to say the same inane nonsense as well. However, this is the same principal who banned ALL playing cards of any sort (including even things like Magic: The gathering, and pokemon cards) because ONE kid was caught gambling. don't judge every kid on one singular idiot.

Lyndsey 9-21-2009 @ 9:10PM

I remember that game, it was way more popular 5 years ago than it is today. The game was mostly jsut for fun and noone, well not me or my friends anyway, actually went trhough with the "sexual act" heind the bracelet. To us it was just for the fashion.

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