Wearing The Rosary As Jewelry
January 21, 2015 4:08 PM Subscribe
Years ago, I had a male coworker who wore a plastic rosary as a necklace. Just recently, I met another man who does the same thing. Is this part of some kind of movement or subculture? Fashion trend? Fringe religious group?
I grew up in a predominantly Catholic part of the US, and I've never met anyone -- male or female -- who wore the rosary as jewelry. And I'm referring to a region where it's not uncommon to see cars with "PRAY THE ROSARY" bumper stickers and people wearing other religious jewelry like saints' medals and scapulars.
So, is this a Thing? Or just two random men encountered over the course of several years who individually had the odd quirk of wearing something that isn't actually jewelry as a fashion accessory? Both men are pretty masculine and culturally fairly conservative. Neither of them came off as necessarily a practicing Catholic. This is not in the heavily Catholic region where I grew up.
In both instances, they were cheap plastic rosaries. They were definitely rosaries and not cross or crucifix necklaces. Nor were they japa mala, which I have seen some clueless wannabes wearing as jewelry in the past.
I grew up in a predominantly Catholic part of the US, and I've never met anyone -- male or female -- who wore the rosary as jewelry. And I'm referring to a region where it's not uncommon to see cars with "PRAY THE ROSARY" bumper stickers and people wearing other religious jewelry like saints' medals and scapulars.
So, is this a Thing? Or just two random men encountered over the course of several years who individually had the odd quirk of wearing something that isn't actually jewelry as a fashion accessory? Both men are pretty masculine and culturally fairly conservative. Neither of them came off as necessarily a practicing Catholic. This is not in the heavily Catholic region where I grew up.
In both instances, they were cheap plastic rosaries. They were definitely rosaries and not cross or crucifix necklaces. Nor were they japa mala, which I have seen some clueless wannabes wearing as jewelry in the past.
It's a Thing. Some people, men and women both, wear plastic rosaries as a devotion, usually if they got them at a mass, funeral mass, or as part of a religious exercise. Usually it's Catholics who do it, and it would be unusual for a non-Catholic Christian to do it, but not unheard of (for me, anyway)
Boys and men are more likely to wear the cheap rosaries that they got from church-- it's not "real" jewelry, so they don't feel like it's effeminate, plus there's the aspect of religious devotion (or wanting to appear devout.) I have had people tell me it's a gang sign, but I don't think that's true-- I think it's mainly an intersection of fashion, religion, and culture.
posted by blnkfrnk at 4:16 PM on January 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
Boys and men are more likely to wear the cheap rosaries that they got from church-- it's not "real" jewelry, so they don't feel like it's effeminate, plus there's the aspect of religious devotion (or wanting to appear devout.) I have had people tell me it's a gang sign, but I don't think that's true-- I think it's mainly an intersection of fashion, religion, and culture.
posted by blnkfrnk at 4:16 PM on January 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
Madonna used to do this in the eighties. I've not seen men wearing the rosary.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 4:16 PM on January 21, 2015 [6 favorites]
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 4:16 PM on January 21, 2015 [6 favorites]
Odd quirk by someone who doesn't know what a rosary is. I've seen a woman wearing one who had no idea that it wasn't just a necklace.
posted by Trifling at 4:16 PM on January 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Trifling at 4:16 PM on January 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
I have seen this as a thing that happens in south florida.
I can't offer any insight into why it happens, but rosary as jewelry among men is real.
posted by bilabial at 4:18 PM on January 21, 2015
I can't offer any insight into why it happens, but rosary as jewelry among men is real.
posted by bilabial at 4:18 PM on January 21, 2015
Response by poster: These two individual men are the only people I've ever seen doing this. And I went to Catholic school, grew up in a predominantly Catholic neighborhood, went to Girl Scouts meetings at the local Knights Of Columbus hall, etc. So, no, it's not a Thing among Catholics. At least not mainstream general/typical Catholics.
posted by Sara C. at 4:22 PM on January 21, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by Sara C. at 4:22 PM on January 21, 2015 [4 favorites]
Weidly, this has also become a gang symbol. Not to say that's what's happening here, but, it is apparently a thing.
posted by rainbowbrite at 4:24 PM on January 21, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by rainbowbrite at 4:24 PM on January 21, 2015 [3 favorites]
I'm gonna guess that if there's a crossover between wearing rosaries and gangs it comes from the cult of La Flaca.
posted by jeb at 4:28 PM on January 21, 2015
posted by jeb at 4:28 PM on January 21, 2015
I've seen men and women do this as a fashion thing. Sometimes they're "cultural Catholics" who may show up to mass on Christmas or Easter, but aren't devout. And, sometimes worn by people who don't identify as Catholic at all.
posted by quince at 4:28 PM on January 21, 2015
posted by quince at 4:28 PM on January 21, 2015
Best answer: Drew and Alec, the dumbass brothers from the most recent season of Survivor, did this. (Or maybe only one of them did, I don't remember and they're hard to tell apart.) See example here.
At the time I googled around a bit to see if anyone was talking about it or if the brothers were even Catholic, and nothing turned up. Not sure what's going on with it but thought you might be interested regardless.
posted by phunniemee at 4:28 PM on January 21, 2015
At the time I googled around a bit to see if anyone was talking about it or if the brothers were even Catholic, and nothing turned up. Not sure what's going on with it but thought you might be interested regardless.
posted by phunniemee at 4:28 PM on January 21, 2015
I did it in high school a zillion years ago and did not at all identify as Catholic. I associate it with either goth-ish subculture or Madonna.
posted by jessamyn at 4:36 PM on January 21, 2015 [7 favorites]
posted by jessamyn at 4:36 PM on January 21, 2015 [7 favorites]
Are you sure they're not mala beads? I think it's more common for people who identify as buddhist to wear their "prayer beads."
posted by cmoj at 4:52 PM on January 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by cmoj at 4:52 PM on January 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
I've found teens will wear it as a inexpensive fashion accessory. Some identify as Catholic (or just Christian in general) but many others wear it simply for style. I've noticed that latter group tends to be fans of hip hop so I'm guessing there are famous musicians doing it.
posted by smorgasbord at 4:58 PM on January 21, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by smorgasbord at 4:58 PM on January 21, 2015 [3 favorites]
At least not mainstream general/typical Catholics.
I also grew up Catholic, and am familiar with the rosary as accessory look. I associate it with southwestern-US Hispanic cultures, mostly, so maybe that is why it is unfamiliar to you. Google reveals there's been quite a bit written about it.
posted by juliplease at 4:59 PM on January 21, 2015 [3 favorites]
I also grew up Catholic, and am familiar with the rosary as accessory look. I associate it with southwestern-US Hispanic cultures, mostly, so maybe that is why it is unfamiliar to you. Google reveals there's been quite a bit written about it.
posted by juliplease at 4:59 PM on January 21, 2015 [3 favorites]
Response by poster: I live in a predominantly Latin-American neighborhood in Los Angeles and have never seen it there, either. Only these two completely unconnected (and not Latino) dudes.
I'm not suggesting that it couldn't ever be done in any Catholic community, anywhere, but it's not usual and is specifically frowned upon by the Catholic Church. It's definitely not a mainstream thing.
posted by Sara C. at 5:08 PM on January 21, 2015
I'm not suggesting that it couldn't ever be done in any Catholic community, anywhere, but it's not usual and is specifically frowned upon by the Catholic Church. It's definitely not a mainstream thing.
posted by Sara C. at 5:08 PM on January 21, 2015
I used to know a bunch of Very Goth kids who wore them in appropriately dark colours a decade ago... who can say why.
posted by equestrian at 5:21 PM on January 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by equestrian at 5:21 PM on January 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
As a teen I would wear a rosary, just because I was interested in religion and spirituality in general, including Christianity. It just looked cool and gave me a little spiritual comfort, so I'd enjoy wearing it now and again. But then I learned from an Atheist I was dating that Catholics actually consider wearing the rosary to be sacrilegious. He said he was now okay with me wearing it, because he interpreted it as me thumbing my nose at religion. That was the opposite of what I actually intended, so I stopped wearing it.
I guess it's possible that wearing the rosary is a cultural trend, but the fact that you see it so rarely seems to contradict that. Actually, considering the fact that a rosary is so clearly a necklace, I think it's more noteworthy that you don't see people wearing them more often. If I saw someone wearing one, I'd assume that they were in the same position I used to be: They thought it looked cool, liked the religious overtones, but hadn't yet learned that Catholics considered it inappropriate. Or, maybe they're doing it intentionally to spit in the face of the church, the way my old boyfriend wished I was doing.
EDIT: I guess wearing the rosary is probably more acceptable in some catholic communities than others. I guess my atheist friend could have been wrong about that. But the fact that you don't see more people wearing it, when it's so clearly a necklace, does seem relevant to me.
posted by sam_harms at 5:40 PM on January 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
I guess it's possible that wearing the rosary is a cultural trend, but the fact that you see it so rarely seems to contradict that. Actually, considering the fact that a rosary is so clearly a necklace, I think it's more noteworthy that you don't see people wearing them more often. If I saw someone wearing one, I'd assume that they were in the same position I used to be: They thought it looked cool, liked the religious overtones, but hadn't yet learned that Catholics considered it inappropriate. Or, maybe they're doing it intentionally to spit in the face of the church, the way my old boyfriend wished I was doing.
EDIT: I guess wearing the rosary is probably more acceptable in some catholic communities than others. I guess my atheist friend could have been wrong about that. But the fact that you don't see more people wearing it, when it's so clearly a necklace, does seem relevant to me.
posted by sam_harms at 5:40 PM on January 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
antecdata: I knew a Peruvian guy who did this--cheap blue rosary. He was Catholic, but not devoutly so. I want to say that I saw it on other men too in coastal peru, but I may be wrong.
posted by geegollygosh at 5:44 PM on January 21, 2015
posted by geegollygosh at 5:44 PM on January 21, 2015
3rding the goth/subcultural thing. My boyfriend at university in the 90s was a long haired black jeans band tshirt kinda guy & he wore rosary beads as a necklace because he thought they were cool and a bit "different" and a bit subversive to reappropriate symbols of organised religion etc etc
posted by stellathon at 5:47 PM on January 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by stellathon at 5:47 PM on January 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
Much in the way evangelicals embraced the torture porn of Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ, I'm going to guess it's some sort of odd embracing of religious artifacts by non-Catholics, with no understanding of their meaning or use.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:57 PM on January 21, 2015
posted by Thorzdad at 5:57 PM on January 21, 2015
Practicing catholic here. I've never seen other practicing catholics wear a rosary in any social or religious setting. I'm in Mexico if it matters.
posted by CrazyLemonade at 6:14 PM on January 21, 2015
posted by CrazyLemonade at 6:14 PM on January 21, 2015
15 years of Catholic school here. I remember when they gave us all rosarys at First Communion age and the number one lesson was "it's not a necklace!" as thirty 2nd graders attempted to don their new "necklaces".
posted by cecic at 6:17 PM on January 21, 2015 [11 favorites]
posted by cecic at 6:17 PM on January 21, 2015 [11 favorites]
Best answer: I see people wearing them on the NYC subway all the time, probably a couple of times a week. Mostly young men.
posted by holborne at 6:27 PM on January 21, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by holborne at 6:27 PM on January 21, 2015 [4 favorites]
Like holborne, I'm on the East Coast (but not in NYC) so I have a feeling it may be a bit of a regional thing? Most of the teens I've seen wear rosaries or other Catholic-inspired jewelry are Black and/or Latino.
posted by smorgasbord at 6:48 PM on January 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by smorgasbord at 6:48 PM on January 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
This was definitely a thing, predominantly amongst catholics, when I was in London. See the number of footballers with neck/chest or arm/hand rosary tattoos as a related phenomenon.
posted by Kreiger at 6:58 PM on January 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Kreiger at 6:58 PM on January 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
Laughed out loud at cecic's comment because I had the same experience in fourth grade after First Reconciliation. The school handed out plastic rosaries with bright colored beads. We traded to get the best ones. I had this aqua colored rosary that I thought looked great with my Bears tshirt.
posted by chimpsonfilm at 7:23 PM on January 21, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by chimpsonfilm at 7:23 PM on January 21, 2015 [3 favorites]
This was definitely A Thing in (culturally) catholic Quebec about 10 years ago, especially among young Italian-Canadian men. Always cheap plastic rosaries. I assume it was partly worn in irony.
posted by third word on a random page at 9:04 PM on January 21, 2015
posted by third word on a random page at 9:04 PM on January 21, 2015
It's funny, the difference. I grew up Latino Catholic in Los Angeles. Catholics didn't do this. In fact, some were offended when they saw someone wearing a rosary as jewelry. It was almost certainly a sign that the person had no idea what a rosary was. It's interesting to me to hear wearing a rosary is a thing among Catholics in other parts of the world.
In high school in the 80s, a male classmate wore one. He took his fashion cues from Billy Idol for the most part.
These days, I occasionally notice someone wearing a rosary. But those occasions were on persons who seemed homeless, possibly with mental health issues.
It's funny that so many are me mentioning cheap plastic rosaries. I handed out a shitload of them at Burning Man about 15 years ago.
posted by 2N2222 at 9:05 PM on January 21, 2015
In high school in the 80s, a male classmate wore one. He took his fashion cues from Billy Idol for the most part.
These days, I occasionally notice someone wearing a rosary. But those occasions were on persons who seemed homeless, possibly with mental health issues.
It's funny that so many are me mentioning cheap plastic rosaries. I handed out a shitload of them at Burning Man about 15 years ago.
posted by 2N2222 at 9:05 PM on January 21, 2015
I've seen Goths wear the rosary as a necklace. I can't vouch as to whether or not they're Catholic, but the ones I know personally who wear one wear it as a piece of jewelry - especially if there's a crucifix on it, instead of just a cross. Some are actual rosaries, and some aren't technically rosaries, just necklaces designed to look like rosaries. They'll have differences such as an ankh instead of a cross/crucifix, the wrong number of beads per 'decade', etc.
posted by spinifex23 at 11:52 PM on January 21, 2015
posted by spinifex23 at 11:52 PM on January 21, 2015
This was absolutely a fashion trend among young, trendy people (say 15-25 years old, mostly men, often paired with a tight or deep-v-necked t-shirt) in the UK a few years ago. I don't know anyone who wore them so I can't ask, but I never got the impression there was anything actually religious or devotional about it. Sometimes you'd see a person wearing two or even three at once. I don't know who they were taking their fashion cues from, but it was everywhere. Fashion being so global now, my guess is that your guys are also just wearing the rosary as an accessory.
(Atheist from a Catholic school here: I always thought it was stupid, but who's going to listen to me?)
posted by daisyk at 12:09 AM on January 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
(Atheist from a Catholic school here: I always thought it was stupid, but who's going to listen to me?)
posted by daisyk at 12:09 AM on January 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
I have observed this a few times in east central London, but because of the locale was unsure if it was being done ironically or as part of some kind of fashion identity thing. Elsewhere in England, I have not observed the wearing of a rosary in such a manner; suspect that adverse comment would result to people who did this.
posted by Wordshore at 3:25 AM on January 22, 2015
posted by Wordshore at 3:25 AM on January 22, 2015
I would think either goth or Madonna fan if I saw someone doing this.
Being a gang member and being religious is not a new thing. Mafia members have often been religious.
posted by Anne Neville at 8:13 AM on January 22, 2015
Being a gang member and being religious is not a new thing. Mafia members have often been religious.
posted by Anne Neville at 8:13 AM on January 22, 2015
Eastern European/Roma Catholic teenagers wear them here in the UK.
posted by Dorothea_in_Rome at 9:09 AM on January 22, 2015
posted by Dorothea_in_Rome at 9:09 AM on January 22, 2015
Also grew up Latino in CA and the only people who wore Rosaries as necklaces were gang members. Have since seen it done once or twice in the clueless-fashion-trend manner, as mentioned above.
posted by Sheep Who Must Not Be Named at 10:35 AM on January 22, 2015
posted by Sheep Who Must Not Be Named at 10:35 AM on January 22, 2015
Best answer: Seconding daisyk that this reminded me of Pete Doherty, an English musician whose peak fame was about a decade ago, for whom wearing a rosary was definitely part of his look. A quick google of his name + rosary also sends up a relevant Yahoo! Answers post by a kid who wanted to copy his style. That search also turned up the unfamiliar-to-me phrase "prison beads," which seems to refer to prison-issued rosary beads. (These are also sometimes advertised by their connection with Doherty. 1, 2) A Guardian article from 2011 implies that wearing rosaries in prison is part of internal fashion trends more broadly. I assume because it is an approved form of jewelry?
Who knows if this UK trend is at all related to what you're seeing, but it's another use case.
posted by CtrlAltDelete at 10:54 AM on January 22, 2015 [2 favorites]
Who knows if this UK trend is at all related to what you're seeing, but it's another use case.
posted by CtrlAltDelete at 10:54 AM on January 22, 2015 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: The "prison beads" concept is pretty compelling. Neither of these two guys was particularly "street" (and definitely not gang members at all), but I could buy that it could trickle down to a subculture these guys are a part of (both evangelical Christianity and CrossFit/lifting).
It's interesting to me that CrossFit didn't come up, because my biggest theory before asking this question was that it's maybe how people who are into that style of training count their reps. Which feels really sacrilegious to me, but American culture is no stranger to sporty/fitness trends that co-opt religious iconography for superficial purposes.
posted by Sara C. at 11:26 AM on January 22, 2015
It's interesting to me that CrossFit didn't come up, because my biggest theory before asking this question was that it's maybe how people who are into that style of training count their reps. Which feels really sacrilegious to me, but American culture is no stranger to sporty/fitness trends that co-opt religious iconography for superficial purposes.
posted by Sara C. at 11:26 AM on January 22, 2015
I went to a predominantly african american high school in St. Louis county several years ago, where lots of guys wore these as fashion statements. I tried to explain a few times that not only are they not jewlery, BUT CMON GUYS THIS AGAINST THE RULES and nobody really got it.
I think there was some element of faith involved, but that was probably secondary to looking nice. Also popular were the wooden bead bracelets with saints and religious images. It's not COMPLETELY unlikely that there is some sort of gang origin, but by this time it was general street fashion.
I'm not sure where they got them - I'd guess the local beauty supply store, certainly they werent frequenting the Catholic Supply downtown.
It was so popular that I'm surprised by the other answers above. It was definitely a staple for the 15-25 year old demographic in my hometown.
Related: I know a few guys with a rosary tattoo, depicted around their neck as if wearing it as a necklace.
posted by rubster at 9:53 PM on January 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
I think there was some element of faith involved, but that was probably secondary to looking nice. Also popular were the wooden bead bracelets with saints and religious images. It's not COMPLETELY unlikely that there is some sort of gang origin, but by this time it was general street fashion.
I'm not sure where they got them - I'd guess the local beauty supply store, certainly they werent frequenting the Catholic Supply downtown.
It was so popular that I'm surprised by the other answers above. It was definitely a staple for the 15-25 year old demographic in my hometown.
Related: I know a few guys with a rosary tattoo, depicted around their neck as if wearing it as a necklace.
posted by rubster at 9:53 PM on January 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:15 PM on January 21, 2015 [2 favorites]