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Nov 08, 2024

Women are wearing blue friendship bracelets to show Democratic support

Some Democratic women have found a way to show their support for one another after Kamala Harris lost her bid for president to Donald Trump: blue friendship bracelets. The new trend is emerging on

Some Democratic women have found a way to show their support for one another after Kamala Harris lost her bid for president to Donald Trump: blue friendship bracelets.

The new trend is emerging on TikTok post-election among white women seeking ways to differentiate themselves from what appears to be a majority of white women who voted for Trump, who they view as a harmful choice for women.

The former president and now president-elect has been found liable by a civil jury for sexually abusing writer E. Jean Carroll (a decision he is appealing) and has bragged about his U.S. Supreme Court justice appointees who helped overturn the federal right to an abortion.

While ballots are still being counted, more white women supported Trump by a margin of 8 percentage points in this election, according to CNN exit polls. Some women voters have expressed disappointment at the country for not choosing a historic woman president, and fear for what Trump's win could mean for women, LGBTQ+ folks and people of color, USA TODAY previously reported.

The blue friendship bracelets are seemingly a nod to the popular Taylor Swift Eras Tour accessory. Swift endorsed Harris after her presidential debate against Trump in September.

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"I'm trying hard to keep it together today, so we're going to make friendship bracelets and we're gonna keep each other safe," one woman on TikTok said through tears the day after the election.

"52% of women that look like me that voted for him. I'm ashamed & hate that others might assume I'm a part of them," another user wrote, saying she was taking down her Harris-Walz flags and bumper stickers for safety reasons. She said she was still wearing the blue bracelet and Converse sneakers as her sign of support.

The bracelets are reminiscent of a similar movement that emerged after the 2016 election where people wore safety pins to signal they were allies to marginalized communities. An internet trend also helped create the pink "pussy hats" that flooded the nation's capital during the Women's March the day after Trump's 2017 inauguration.

Many TikTok videos of the blue bracelets are set to an excerpt from the song "labour" by Paris Paloma, whose music often advocates for women's rights.

"All day, every day therapist, mother maid, nymph then a virgin, nurse then a servant, just an appendage, live to attend him so that he never lifts a finger. 24/7 baby machine so he can live out his picket fence dreams. It’s not an act of love if you make her. You make me do too much labour," the lyrics to the song say.

More:Trump beat Harris in a landslide. Will his shy voters feel emboldened?

While many women are hopping on the trend, others suggest it could be seen as "performative," compared to other direct actions they could take to be allies to other women.

"It seems to me that the best way to show Black women that they're safe with you is to stand up for them at work," one X user wrote. "To call out your friends & family on their racism. To watch out for their literal safety in public. To shop at Black owned businesses and to vote like Black women's safety actually matters to you."

Votes in a few states are still being counted as of Thursday and the country is waiting to see which party will control the House of Representatives. In the meantime, CNN exit polls show clues as to how women voted in this presidential election.

Harris led among women voters overall but with a smaller margin than both Clinton and President Joe Biden, according to CNN's data.

Broken out by racial identity in this election, white women supported Trump with an 8-point lead, compared to an 84 percentage point lean towards Harris among Black women and a 22 percentage point lean towards Harris among Latina women, CNN exit polls show.

See the state-by-state election results live on USA TODAY.

Contributing: Jessica Durando

Kinsey Crowley is a trending news reporter at USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected], and follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley.