The origin of the pink ribbon
The color pink has been associated with breast cancer awareness since the founding of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure® organization in 1982.
The whole ribbon thing came later. In fact, the original idea for using a ribbon as a symbol had nothing to do with breast cancer, and the ribbon wasn’t pink.
Originally there were yellow ribbons, associated with women who were pledging faith to a man away from home. While the concept traces to the Civil War, the notion became ingrained in the public psyche in the 1970s, first with the hit Tony Orlando and Dawn song “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Around the Old Oak Tree” and later, in 1979, during the Iran Hostage Crisis, when the wife of one of the hostages, Penney Laingen, used the song as inspiration to tie yellow ribbons around the trees in her front yard. The idea caught on and spread across the country.
The first Gulf War in 1990-91 saw a revival of the yellow ribbon, which in turn inspired AIDS activists to adopt the idea for a ribbon of their own, and before long, red ribbons gained national attention, particularly after actor Jeremy Irons sported one in front of a national television audience at the 1991 Tony Awards.
It didn’t take long for others to embrace ribbons, including the Komen organization. The first Komen Race for the Cure® logo design was an abstract female runner outlined with a pink ribbon and was used from the mid-1980s through the early 1990s.
In 1990, the first breast cancer survivor program was launched at the Komen National Race for the Cure® in Washington, D.C. The survivors wore buttons that were printed in black and white. Later that year, the survivor program developed, and pink was used as the designated color for Komen to promote awareness and its programs. Pink visors were launched for survivor recognition.
The following year, pink ribbons were distributed to all breast cancer survivors and participants of the Komen New York City Race for the Cure®. In 1992, Alexandra Penney, editor-in-chief of Self magazine, wanted to put the publication’s second annual Breast Cancer Awareness Month issue over the top. She did this by creating a ribbon and enlisting cosmetics companies to distribute them in New York City stores. And the pink ribbon officially came into its own.
In 2007, 25 years after its inception, the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation changed its name to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. The name change was accompanied by a new brand image. The new logo included a pink “running ribbon” designed specifically for Komen for the Cure. This ribbon signifies the promise Komen founder Nancy G. Brinker made to her dying sister to do what she could to end breast cancer.
Today, any generic pink ribbon can be used to represent breast cancer awareness. However, the Komen “running ribbon” is reserved solely for use by Susan G. Komen for the Cure®.