Blue Friendship Bracelet Movement

About

The Blue Friendship Bracelet Movement, also known simply as the Blue Bracelet Movement, refers to a TikTok trend of people wearing blue-colored friendship bracelets to signal that they're a "safe person" meaning that they didn't vote for former President Donald Trump in the 2024 United States Presidential Election. The movement was founded by liberal white women after Vice President Kamala Harris lost the election in November 2024. The white people at the helm of the movement believed that they needed to let people of color know that they hadn't voted "against them" and "against women." Their fear of being misunderstood came from the demographic statistics released after the election, which showed that more white women and men voted for Trump than Harris. As the Blue Friendship Bracelet Movement gained traction on social media, it was also met with criticism. Critics expressed in viral reaction videos that the movement was virtue signaling. Overall, the Blue Friendship Bracelet Movement is similar to the precursor Safety Pin Movement, which spread en masse after Hillary Clinton lost the 2016 Presidential Election.

Online History

The earliest known post about the Blue Friendship Bracelet Movement was shared by TikToker^[1] @libbyraelou at around 11 a.m. EST on November 6th, 2024. In the video, she asked, "Fellow white women, how are we signaling to each other now which side we are on?" She said that she didn't trust any other white women anymore and asked if blue friendship bracelets would be the symbol for a Kamala Harris voter. In a day, the video amassed over 3.3 million plays and 477,600 likes (shown below).

Others on TikTok quickly added to the trend on November 6th. For instance, a few hours after the abovementioned video, TikToker^[2] @witchywoosel posted a video showing herself buying supplies to make a blue friendship bracelet, ending with a text caption reading, "We won't go back. Women are safer together. Blue friendship bracelet movement." The video gained over 2.8 million plays and 322,200 likes in a day (shown below).

On November 6th, 2024, Twitter / X^[3] user @stateoflace13 reposted TikToker^[1] @libbyraelou's video, captioning it, "We going with blue friendship bracelets?" The tweet received over 410 likes in a day. Other non-viral posts about the movement were shared on X^[4] soon after.

Viral videos about the movement continued to spread on TikTok. For instance, on November 6th, TikToker^[5] @joelynnsolutions posted a video asking, "So is it blue friendship bracelets? Is that what we finally came to as a decision to know who of us voted for women in this election?" Her video received roughly 798,500 plays and 83,300 likes in a day (shown below).

Posts about the movement also spread on Threads ^[7][8] on November 6th, although the majority were non-viral.

Online Reactions

Positive reactions to the movement spread across social media in the following days. For instance, on November 6th, 2024, TikToker^[6] @jackie.baze gave her perspective as a Black woman, saying, "They got the white people, specifically white women, on this app asking how they can identify as safe spaces for people of color." She went on to say, "I appreciate you." In a day, her video amassed over 1.4 million plays and 307,500 likes (shown below).

Also on November 6th, TikToker^[9] @beauty_and_theboys shared a video giving her perspective as a woman of color. She said that she didn't blame white women for wanting to differentiate themselves from those among them who voted for Donald Trump. Her video received roughly 302,500 plays and 32,400 likes in a day (shown below).

Criticism

Criticism of the Blue Friendship Bracelet Movement also spread online during the same timeframe. For instance, on November 6th, 2024, TikToker^[10] @crumbalchemist posted a video in which she mocked the women championing the movement, saying, "Oh, how will they know I'm one of the good ones?" She further said, "A bracelet can come off." In a day, her video gained over 111,200 plays and 4,000 likes (shown below).

Non-viral posts that were critical of the movement also spread on X^[11] and Threads^[8] during the same timeframe.

On November 7th, TikToker^[12] @heyericavain also posted a video in which she was critical of the movement from the perspective of a Black woman. She called the movement performative. In less than a day, her video received over 42,800 plays and 2,900 likes (shown below).

Search Interest

External References