The Pixel Project Paint It Purple 2011 Blog Carnival

For the past seven weeks, The Pixel Project and its supporters have been painting the Internet purple because ‘it’s time to stop violence against women together.”

“Paint It Purple” is an annual global campaign that was initially created in 2010 by The Pixel Project to raise the profile of the USA’s National Domestic Violence Awareness Month worldwide.

However, starting from 2011, as part of The Pixel Project’s commitment to stopping all forms of Violence Against Women (VAW), we have extended the campaign to 24 November which is the eve of the International Day of Elimination of Violence Against Women and the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence campaign.

“Paint It Purple” benefits the cause to end VAW because it raises worldwide awareness about all forms of VAW and it raises funds for The Pixel Project, our partners and participating VAW organisations around the world.

Gathered here are a collection of blogposts that have been made during the Paint It Purple campaign. Some feature recipes, others are heartfelt emotional stories from survivors of violence against women, and others are blog posts that help us spread the word about our campaign.

We are so thankful for all the organisations, businesses and individuals who helped us spread the word about The Pixel Project, the Paint It Purple campaign and our efforts to end violence against women around the world. Only together can we make a difference.

It’s time to stop violence against women. Together.

– Tim Busbey, “Paint It Purple” Blog Editor

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Recipes

Blog Submission 1:  Deeba Rajpals – Passionate About Baking – Paint It Purple Vanilla Bean Cupcakes (and Homemade Marzipan)

Blog Submission 2:  Mei Ying – Bisou Bake Shop – Do a good thing. Buy a cupcake (ok, maybe 10)

Blog Submission 3:  Cake Fairy – Purple Blueberry Cupcakes – “Paint It Purple” Campaign

Blog Submission 4: Eleanor – Brownieville Girl – Paint It Purple

Blog Submission 5: Gloria – Canela Kitchen – Blueberry Cupcakes With Cream Cheese Frosting

Blog Submission 6: The More Than Occasional Baker – Rose Cupcakes

Blog Submission 7:  Beth Wittenstein – Young Idealistic Baker – Blueberry Pomegranate Ginger Cupcakes Painted Purple 

Survivor Stories

Blog Submission 8: Kristan – Confessions of a Cookbook Queen – Paint it Purple – A Very Personal Post

Blog Submission 9: Erin – “Paint It Purple” to Raise Awareness for Violence Against Women

Blog Submission 10: Giselle – Baking In Heels – An Abusive Marriage

Campaign Shout-Outs

Blog Submission 11: Only A Number – The Pixel Project, Stopping The Abuse of Women

Blog Submission 12: Kathlynn – Thoughts: Anatomy of the Mind – Paint It Purple

Much Ado About Purple

As you can tell from the elegant shades of eggplant, lavender and violet that appear on everything from t-shirts to candles to posters every October, November and December– a period that covers Domestic Violence Awareness Month, the International Day of Elimination of Violence Against Women and 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence – purple is a very significant colour for activists and groups involved in women’s issues.

Purple has a long history of being associated with the women’s movement and is frequently used in the colour schemes of organisations working to end violence against women or to support women who have been abused.

Purple was one of the three colours originally used by the women’s suffrage movement in the United Kingdom. In 1908 the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) adopted a colour scheme of purple, white, and green. Purple symbolised dignity, self-reverence and self-respect. White symbolised purity (also a symbol used by the Women’s Christian Temperance Union). Green was used as a sign of hope.

In the U.S. gold and yellow were the first colours used by the women’s suffrage movement, but they soon added purple and white into the mix (with gold signifying enlightenment). Purple, white, green  and gold are now associated with the modern women’s movement, being seen most notably during the 1978 march in Washington, D.C. in support of the Equal Rights Amendment, in which women wore white with sashes of purple, green and gold.

The Pixel Project’s signature ribbon incorporates both purple and white to signify men and women working together to end violence. The white ribbon came to symbolise men’s involvement when the White Ribbon Campaign (WRC) was founded in Canada. WRC was created in response to the 1989 Montréal Massacre in which a man shot and killed 14 female engineering students because they were “a bunch of feminists.”

So, there, in a nutshell is why The Pixel Project created and named our annual Paint It Purple campaign so and why the campaign spans October and runs until 24 November – the eve of the International Day of Elimination of Violence Against Women as well as the 16 Days of Activism.

Through this campaign, we rally the global community to raise awareness about all forms of violence against women by painting the internet purple using everything from special campaign badges to photoshopping themselves purple to contributing blog posts to our Paint It Purple blog carnival to recording PSAs of themselves, dressed in purple, standing up to say NO to violence against women.

The campaign also raises funds for The Pixel Project and participating VAW nonprofits worldwide via “Paint It Purple” parties and bake sales held by The Pixel Project, VAW nonprofits, and grassroots groups. The bake sales and parties feature cupcakes with The Pixel Project’s signature ribbon. This year, bakeries and cupcakeries are also invited to independently sign up to hold ‘Paint It Purple’ bake sales.

By making Paint It Purple a fun, creative and inclusive campaign that anyone can become involved with, we hope to further galvanise widespread support and momentum for action to end gender-based violence which continues to affect millions of women and girls worldwide.

For more information about the Paint It Purple campaign, visit our Paint It Purple campaign website at http://paintitpurple.thepixelproject.net.

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References:

http://www.welvic.org.au/aboutwel/coloursandsymbols/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suffragette

http://www.squidoo.com/colorexpert

http://crystal-cure.com/purple.html