The red bracelet movement started in the pro ana scene around the 2000s, it's difficult to find out who exactly started it, but the site I can find that was most involved was Blue Dragonfly. In 2002 (which is the earliest accessible archive of the site I can find), the owner of the site sold the bracelets to help keep Blue Dragonfly running, these bracelets were the typical red beaded bracelets, but a little more complex than later versions, there were also necklace and anklet versions, but these were less popular. Here is an extract from the March 2002 version of Blue Dragonfly that explains the bracelets:
How to get a red bracelet - & what's this all about?:
*The Idea:*
Basically, they are an idea that's running thru the ana community right now -
a kind of "solidarity" thing - So you can go out into the world and not have to
wonder "is she or isn't she???" You see the red bracelet, and you know!
My thinking is that we should have bracelets that are the same, and unique
to us so that we don't go off giving "secret handshakes" so to speak to any
thin girl who happens to like red bracelets!
Here's some info on the one that I make...
*Description & Picture:*It's a "braided" 3 strand bracelet, composed of 2 sizes of silver lined seed beads (red, of course, in Czech glass) and accented with 2 etched Venetian glass teardrops and 2 hematite stars. In the center is a larger red Venetian glass bead that has flecks of gold through it. It's tipped with silver findings and a (lobster?) clasp. It's strung over very strong beading wire giving it a good shape (that is also flexible) and sturdy. (Less prone to breaking like silk thread or elastic!)
The original bracelets were sold for $15, and with the fundraiser other designs were brought in, simple single-strand, stretchy, beaded bracelets, these were sold for $10 each, or 3 for $25, they came in the following colours:
Ana-Red
with hematite stars & red accents
Iridescent Dragonfly Green
with silver & black accents
Mia Purple
with alternating black triangle accent beads, hematite stars, and blue crystal
Clarity
with alternating blue square accent beads, hematite stars, and blue crystal
BDF Ice Blue
with alternating blue square accent beads, hematite stars, and blue crystal
SI Black
with gray miracle beads and blue crystal accents, hematite stars and luster clarity center
Later on, with what I like to call the second wave of pro ana, or the Tumblr era, the red bracelet movement evolved, the bracelets became simpler and easier to make on your own, here is something I found on Tumblr from around 2014:
The Red Bracelet
This is the Red Beaded Bracelet. You can buy them, but you could also easily make them yourself. Wear them daily to secretly show people that you are affected by anorexia nervosa. Only other people with Eating Disorders will be able to understand what the bracelet means.
If you see anyone with a bracelet like this, catch their eye and then point at your bracelet. Hopefully they will do the same, but if they don’t, they could just be wearing a red beaded bracelet.
The red bracelet symbolises anorexia nervosa. If you have bulimia nervosa, you could wear a bracelet just like this, but with blue beads instead. If you have EDNOS, you could wear a bracelet with both red and blue beads.
By wearing these bracelets, you are showing other people with ED that they are not alone. Some people may wear bracelets like these to show that they are pro-ana
And then there was this iteration, from 2016, "the bracelet project", this is one you likely are familiar with:
The Bracelet Project
Each disorder has a color that corresponds to it.
Anorexia is Red.
Bulimia is Purple.
EDNOS is Pink.
Depression is blue.
Self harm is Orange or Black.
Fasting at the time is Green.
Suicidal is Yellow.
Overweight/Obese is Turquoise.
Anxiety/Panic disorder/OCD is Teal.
Adding 1 white bead means you’re trying to recover.
If your bracelet is half of the color that your disease is and half white it means you’re in recovery.
You can also make the strand the main disorder you have then add beads to your lesser disorders, or if you have EDNOS, if you have more anorexic or bulimic tendencies then you can add a red or purple bead.
If you see a girl or boy in public wearing one, you are supposed to make eye contact and point to your bracelet. If she nods then you know she is part of the bracelet project.
Spread awareness about the bracelet project.
- via http://spreadingthehope.tumblr.com/
Stay Strong, Spread The Hope, And Victory Will Be Ours!
That is as much as I know about the history of the red bracelets, the movement seems to have died out somewhat, but that will soon be changing!!
Our Take on the Red Bracelets
There has been a movement in the chatroom these past few days about bringing back the red (and purple!!) bracelets, we decided that to make them more accessible, as well as recognisable to eachother as our version of the bracelets, we will ditch the beads altogether and instead use embroidery thread to make simple friendship bracelets.
Bracelet Making Tutorial
This tutorial was originally posted by B0n3b0y on our forum. I wanted to publish it on the main site itself so that more people would see it :)
Bringing Back the Red Bracelets
Hey! we were talking in the chat rooms about bringing the red bracelet trend back so I made a tutorial about how I made mine
So I used plain red embroidery thread.
Step 1
Cut 3 strands about 14-17 inches (i like to cut mine closer to 17inch because having a bit more is better than having not enough)
Step 2
Collect all the strings together and tie them in the the middle making little loop. It should look like this:
Step 3
take the 3 left most string and braid them together and tie them all into a knot at the end. Repeat with the 3 remaining strings. It should look like this
i like to make mine about 7inches because my wrist are 6-7 inches around but adjust to fit your wrists.
Step 4
twist both braids together and tie together at the end. They don't have to be even but if you want yours to be neat aim to make them even.
Step 5
Once you are done pull the remaining threads through the loop and tie around your wrist.
Boom! Now you have a neat little red bracelet. I know people will do purple bracelets for Mia but if you struggle with both Ana and Mia i would add in a purple thread (2 red 1 purple)
I hope this was easy to follow! Stay safe!
