Sexual connotations to bracelets targeting 5-year-olds

The latest children’s craze has caused a stir among pre-teens and are a spin-off of the more crudely named ‘shag-bands’, writes Kerrie Kennedy.

ASK a room full of people what they think “Silly Bandz” are, and the answers are likely to range from colourful rubber jewellery to the newest X-factor line up.

While either answer could fall into the category of the latest children’s craze, the fact that it is the former that parents should be more concerned about may come as more a surprise.

Available in a variety of shapes from dinosaurs to farm animals, the cheap colourful bracelets known as “Silly-Bandz” have been flying off the shelves in toy shops and discount stores in recent months.

The appeal for children – apparently – is that bands look similar to coloured rubber bands while worn around the wrist, but when taken off return to their original shape.

For many parents, the phenomenon is nothing more than the latest playground fad, no different to Pokemon or Justin Bieber.

However, a number of schools have chosen to ban the cheap, innocent-looking rubber jewellery.

Rather than simply being the latest fashion accessory for boys and girls, the bracelets that have been causing a stir among pre-teens are a spin off of the more crudely named “shag-bands” – very similar coloured silicone bracelets that are said to represent gradations of sexual behaviour.

First made popular by pop singers such as Madonna in the 1980s, shag bands have made a comeback since a number of high-profile stars were spotted sporting the jelly textured bands in recent times.

As the name might suggest, shag-bands indicate different types of sexual acts the wearer will consent to, and are sold at the pre-teen friendly price of a euro or two per packet.

Shag-bands range from yellow (a hug) right up to black and blue which indicate more serious sexual behaviour, and if a band is snapped the wearer supposedly must carry out the physical act represented by that colour.

Children as young as five are wearing Silly-Bandz and so-called shag-bands – which are often sold as gummy or jelly bracelets – as they become increasingly popular in primary schools.

While most young children are unaware of the full meaning of the bracelets, a number of teachers and parents have become increasingly concerned about what they see as the early sexualisation of children.

One mother, Gillian Gilmartin from Cobh, Cork, said she was alarmed when her five-year-old daughter explained to her what the rubber bands meant.

“My daughter came in last week and said that the black bracelet meant that a boy has to put his willie into a girl’s front bum. I was shocked. I told her that she wouldn’t be allowed wear them anymore if I heard her talking about that, I said that it didn’t mean anything for young kids, that they were just bracelets.”

Ms Gilmartin said that her daughter’s school has since banned students from wearing shag-bands during school hours.

Another school, St Anthony’s Primary in Ballinlough, Cork, said they also had to ban rubber bracelets as they were becoming too much of a distraction for the children.

“They were banned after I read in an article what the bracelets stood for. For most of the junior classes the bracelets had no connotations – they were being banned because they were a distraction during class, and the children seemed to accept that,” said acting principle Maura O’ Sullivan.

“Most of the kids were just calling them silly bands or rubber bracelets, but the kids in the older classes were calling them by their other name.”

A number of schools in Dublin, Kerry and Louth have also banned the wearing of rubber bracelets during school hours because of the disruption caused to class by children trading or playing with the bands.

One Dublin principal said staff had confiscated dozens of the bracelets from students in recent weeks, and that he had informed the children that their parents would have to claim them if they were to be given back.

The latest school yard fashion accessory has also generated much debate on internet sites such as boards.ie.

According to one boards.ie poster, the phenomenon of shag-bands has been blown out of proportion.

“Yes, they all do represent a sexual act, or something similar, but that doesn’t really hold any significance. Everybody sees them as a joke – people will break your black band (sex) for a laugh. Nobody actually takes them seriously and performs the act,” said a 15-year-old poster.

According to Irish Primary Principals Network president Pat Goff, however, banning the bracelets is unlikely to have much of an effect, and it is down to the parents to educate their children about the issues.

“Banning anything often has the opposite effect – it highlights the issue as opposed to stopping it, and there is nothing stopping the children wearing the bracelets outside of school hours.

“Parents need to work in conjunction with teachers, they need to start teaching their children sensitive lessons in the home and talk to them about where they are picking up the information that they are.”