Maybe you don't wear them but you probably know someone who does.  Those little plastic multi-colored bracelets that you can buy almost anywhere in packs of 15 for $3 are causing quite the commotion.  These seemingly harmless little bracelets are rumored to have sexual meanings behind them. Different colors supposedly suggest different sex acts that the wearer will do to whomever breaks the bracelet.

More than twenty years ago, Madonna started wearing an armful of these thin plastic bands and the trend was born.  Other pop stars of the time, like Cyndi Lauper, and college students soon followed in her footsteps and started wearing them as cheap and colorful jewelry.  The trend faded out and has made a comeback, as so many 80's fads have.  Now, the bracelets potentially have a secret and disturbing meaning.   The different colors indicate what the wearer (generally a girl) is willing to do to the person who breaks off the bracelet.

In Florida, Illinois, and Ohio, sex bracelets have been banned, primarily in middle schools, to prevent disruption of the school day and the problems that could occur.  This doesn't mean that all teens who are wearing them are doing so for the purposes of sex.  Most have no idea that sex bracelets even exist, or maybe they do but that's not why they wear the bracelets.  Adolescents and teens wear them because they're a cool and fun accessory that’s cheap.

This doesn't mean that no preteens or teens are doing it, but a majority of your peers are not.  These jelly bracelets mean other things, like friendship bracelets, or are fashion trends adopted from new pop stars like Pink and Avril Lavigne.  Mostly they're a cheap way to look cool for both boys and girls.

Sex bracelets certainly are not cool.  If you do wear them for that reason, you could be labeled a 'slut' or worse.  Nobody wants to be known as easy; if that happens then people will only want to date you because they think they can get sex out of you.  No one is her right mind wants to get this kind of reputation or run the risk of STDs and pregnancy that comes with sex. The truth about sex and wearing sex bracelets is everybody is NOT doing it. If your friends are wearing sex bracelets or kids in your school are, know that you don't have to. It's cooler and safer to be your own person and have the ability to say 'no' than it is to blindly go along with something!