Magnetic Imagery: War-Related Ribbons as Collective Display

• Published in: Sociological inquiry Vol. 80; no. 2; pp. 313 - 321
• Main Authors: Lilley, Terry G., Best, Joel, Aguirre, Benigno E., Lowney, Kathleen S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.05.2010; Wiley-Blackwell; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Medals; Participation; Patriotism; Political Affiliation; Political Parties; Political sociology; Politics; Social Movements; Social Participation; Sociology; Sociology of communication and mass media. Sociolinguistics; Sociology of knowledge and sociology of culture; Statistical analysis; Symbolism; Telecommunications; War; Wars; United States Of America; Multivariate Analysis; New Information and Communication Technologies (NTIC); Social movement; Patriotism; Warfare; Symbol
• ISSN: 0038-0245; 1475-682X
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-682X.2010.00333.x

The collective display of particular symbols represents an emergent form of social movement participation. This study documents the patterns of the collective display of one such symbol; the magnetic war‐related ribbon (WRR). Using bivariate and multivariate analyses of a sample of 8,100 vehicles, we studied the relationships between WRR display and measures of political affiliation, patriotism, and war support. The results find that that WRR display is positively associated with affiliation with George W. Bush and the Republican Party, and various displays of patriotism and war support. This study demonstrates how advents in communication technologies, shifts in the social, economic, and political structures have converged and given rise to a new form of symbolic participation marked by the collective display of cause‐related symbols.