Badge of dishonor: Jewish Badges in medieval Europe

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine how medieval authorities legislated and enforced the wearing of the Jewish badge, a patch of fabric Jews were required to wear to visually identify themselves as distinct from, and less than, Christians. While most clothing communicates encoded or vague messages, in this case both wearers and observers understood the explicit message of the wearer's Judaism, as well as the coded connotations that Jews were inferior and deserving of stigmatisation. This study documented the Jewish badge, including the physical stigma symbol itself, the negative concepts the badges communicated, and the consequences of this communication. Additionally, comparisons were drawn between the discriminatory laws of medieval Europe and those of Nazi-occupied Europe. This study explored fashion as a form of non-verbal communication by examining the use of Jewish badges as a tool of oppression.

“Memes Save Lives”: Stigma and the Production of Antivaccination Memes During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Similar to the persecution of the Jews by the Nazis, the unvaccinated are presented as a stigmatized group that suffer at the hands of the State as a result of their refusal to be vaccinated. Evocative allusions to stigma as a source of dehumanization were evident in memes ranging from "Unvaccinated Lives Matter" and "The Medical Apartheid" to visual memes depicting an "unvaccinated badge" (Figure 7) directly alluding to the yellow Jewish badges used as a symbol of social exclusion by the Nazis, and earlier deployed by Christian authorities to distinguish Jews in medieval Europe (Jablon, 2015). These signifiers are coupled with references to the Holocaust and comparisons of government authorities and Big Tech, who moderate their posts, to Nazis and fascists.…”

Influential women and dress in Renaissance Italy: Power and identity in portraiture

“…In contrast, the violently persecuted Jewish community was legally commanded to wear variations of a flat cap hat style, patches, or the color yellow to visually distinguish themselves from Christians. In other cases, Jewish religious texts such as the Torah and the Talmud gave instructions on how to dress to visually separate Jewish individuals from the gentile (Jablon, 2015;Silverman, 2013).…”