The Political Properties of Purple

From the Philippines MANILA STANDARD TODAY newspaper, an article emphasizing the political power of purple:

The Color Purple The color purple has taken on a new meaning: the struggle for the passage of the reproductive health (RH) bill. Purple is a secondary color from the mixture of the coolest and warmest primary colors, blue and red. “The Color Purple” is also a novel by renowned feminist author Alice Walker. The book was the basis of the equally popular movie with the same title. The novel highlighted the complex women’s oppression due to class, race, and gender. I was young when I saw this movie and was struck at how the color purple was used to the fullest impact in its scenes. Many are unaware but historically, purple has been the political color of the world’s women’s movements. In 1908, the suffragettes adopted purple, white and green as its colors symbolizing dignity, purity, and hope respectively. The suffragettes’ struggle for women’s right to vote was most controversial then. In our country, the movement succeeded in April 1937 primarily through actions by women themselves. It’s been said that the women’s mobilizations during the referendum on the issue was the biggest political statement of Filipino women by far. If the suffragettes failed, imagine a Philippines where only men can vote, and run and be elected to office! The color purple was again picked up by the women’s movements from the 60’s to the present. The right to vote was a crucial victory but women had, and still have to struggle for equality and equity in laws, opportunities, and beyond these, in family and personal relationships. Thus, issues like violence against women, sexuality, and reproductive health and rights surfaced. Women’s organizations in various parts of the country used the color purple in our advocacies for the passage of laws like: Anti-Rape (R.A. 8353), Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children (R.A. 9262), Anti-Trafficking in Persons (R.A. 9208); and most recently, the Magna Carta of Women (R.A. 9710). I recall a phase in my feminist activist life when almost everything in my closet was either violet, lavender or purple in varying shades and textures. I would go to meetings and events in everything purple, including accessories and shoes! I was called Ms. Purple and told that I had an emotional affinity with the color. Perhaps I did. The RH struggle is no different. The various groups, particularly women’s organizations pushing for the passage of the RH bill have been using a lot of purple through the years. We troop to Congress for RH sessions in our trademark purple bandannas and pins. We march on the streets garbed in purple and with similarly-colored flags and banners. Thus, no other color can represent the RH movement better than purple. The launch of the “Purple Ribbon for RH” was a bigger success than what organizers expected. It was an unprecedented gathering of personalities from various fields like academe, business, governance, arts and entertainment, and media.    The purple ribbon unites people of all classes, persuasions, ideologies, and religions. Personalities and ordinary masses become one in purpose. Wearing or displaying this is a simple way to tell our legislators that we are pro-RH and we want an RH law. This statement is gaining momentum. In social media, Twitter and Facebook users proudly wear the purple ribbon. Many openly say that they will attend Sunday masses in purple as a political statement. Numerous people are looking for pins, stickers, posters with the purple ribbon on them. I dare say that we will see a lot more purple ribbons and the color purple in the coming days. We will wear our color as we observe our legislators in the House of Representatives and Senate discuss the RH bill. As starters, be with us on Tuesday, May 17, as the House discusses the bill in the Plenary. The purple ribbon puts women at the center of the RH debate. As former President Ramos said, RH is primarily a women’s issue and women’s voices should be significantly heard in the discourse. When you see the purple ribbon, think of the eleven Filipino women, mostly poor who die daily due to preventable pregnancy and childbirth complications. The purple ribbon is for saving these women. If you wish to contact Ms. Angiosoco, write her at eangsioco@yahoo.com

The Royal Color

Dr. Oz highlighted the health benefits of purple vegetables today on his show. These beauties rank high in antioxidants. Purple cauliflower, potatoes and carrots are not the usual produce available at supermarkets, but with the health benefits, perhaps we should request our grocers to carry them. According to Lilian Verner-Bonds, in her book Colour Healing, purple foods promote leadership and heal erratic emotions. She also reveals the characteristics attributed to colors in the purple family:

Deep purple = arrogance, corrupt power, delusion, ruthlessness.
Violet= a rebuilder of hope, intuition, sense of destiny
Amethyst=mystical connections, idealism, protects the vulnerable
Mauve=makes the right choices, aristocratic, dynastic
Plum=old fashioned, pompous, full of false pride, boring
Lavender=perceptive and fragile, elusive, aesthetic
Lilac=a bright personality, vanity, glamor, romance, adolescence

She goes on to say that "purple flowers placed near you when you are working relieves eyestrain. Also, she advises us to use purple sparingly for it is a "heavy" color which, when used in excess, may be depressing. On its positive aspects, she says purple is useful for any kind of internal inflammation and for subduing palpitations of the heart. It is a good color for head problems; it is the chakra color for the brain. The immune system and jangled nerves can benefit from this color. Should you suffer from an overload of purple, the antidote is exposure to gold in the form of gold lighting, decor or clothes."

Just think, King Midas may have been trying to overcome excessive purple exposure while he played with his gold!

From other research and reading, I have concluded that plum/purple/violet have different personalities:

            Plum is sullen and sumptuous, on the dark side, an intriguing combination of red, blue and black, the deepest color in the plant palette. Taking on more red, more blue, even more black, it becomes many shades and tones. Claret, maroon, burgundy, mulberry, puce, all fit into this color group. The word plum seems to encompass all these tones. For the fruits themselves range from the almost black of a sloe or the rich, deep purple of a damson plum to the paler mulberry shades of a Victoria plum. It seems fitting that plum also means first class, treasure, and prize.

            As with red, textiles and fabrics of plum and purple have long been associated with wealth and opulence, empire and papacy. The dyes used to create these gorgeous hues were obtained only with great difficulty and expense. The Cretans, Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans and Egyptians knew the secret. The dye for the Tyrian purple of antiquity was extracted from the soft tissue of certain shellfish, notably of the genus Murex. 10,000 shells  yielded only one gram of dye.

The purple silk sails of Cleopatra's royal barge certainly impressed Marc Anthony; they were a blatant symbol of her immense wealth. Other Romans envied her power and  plotted to overthrow her so they could rape her country of its riches. Unfortunately, they prevailed against the purple-loving monarch.

Roman emperors alone had the right to wear clothes dyed purple and was associated with supreme power in cultures from Israel to Persia. Ancient texts tell us of its irresistible attraction among the upper echelons of society and of the emperors' relentless refusal to allow others to use it. Nero went so far as to punish offenders with death.

The complex process by which murex shells produce their purple dye has been reconstructed. The coloring molecules are similar to those of the indigo plant. The dyes varied with different types of mollusks. This is noted by Pliny, who remarked that the northern Mediterranean murex gave a different color from that of the south. Dye baths were manipulated to alter color. Sometimes two baths were used, each with a purple from a different source. This was expensive. Later, murex was replaced in the second bath with less expensive kermes (red) and indigo (blue). With the fall of the Roman Empire, much of this technical knowledge was lost.