February 23, 2004
Bergen (Norway) school bans 'sex-code' bracelets
Bergen kids shocked their elders by turning simple bracelets into a sex challenge. (PHOTO: TOR JARILD)
The colorful plastic bracelets are popular with youngsters in the Bergen area, and to the eye are nothing more than the latest fad. Now a principal will ban the trinkets after learning that students use them to color code demands for sex, newspaper Bergensavisen reports.
Principal Arne Bjoroey at Brattholmen School is sending a letter to parents asking them not to let their children wear the bracelets to school.
"We have had a lot of references to sex and sexual behavior that have no place in a grade school," Bjoroey told the newspaper.
The bracelets are very popular in elementary and junior high schools. The plastic rings are associated with different sexual acts according to their color, and are commonly known as f**k-bracelets.
Some students have felt pressured by the focus on sex and arguments and unrest have developed in classrooms.
"The students did not really let us in on the exact meaning of the various colors but we have understood enough to know that this is not just something innocent," Bjoroey said.
Bergensavisen had less trouble finding out more about the system. According to the newspaper, if someone rips off a bracelet then the wearer is obliged to give that person what the color represents.
Their interviews, with children in the sixth and seventh grades, produced the following code(s):
Black: Sex, coital or oral
Orange: Necking. Bare breasts
Yellow: Sex. French kissing
Blue: Oral sex
Red: Body contact
White: Friendship
Green: Give a flower
Pink: Give a hug
The shop Glitter carries the bracelets, which have been a hot item since before Christmas. Black bracelets were sold out.
Manager Linda Nygaard , was shocked to hear how the baubles were being used. She said parents had begun to call and ask if they were being sold as "f**k-bracelets", but they were just a fashion item.