What Does the Color Yellow Symbolize?

What does the color yellow symbolize?  There has long been an association between the various colors that we come across in daily life and certain subsets of meanings that mankind has assigned to them.  In many cultures, for example, white symbolizes purity or chastity, while black symbolizes mourning or death.  So, what does yellow symbolize?

The symbolism of the color yellow depends on the culture, but in general, the color yellow symbolizes:

• Light
• Cowardice
• Support for soldiers fighting away at war
• Irresponsible journalistic practices

The color yellow can even act as a warning color because of its high visibility. In this context, the color yellow is typically used in a fluorescent shade in order to set off fire engines or other emergency vehicles from other vehicles on the road.

Yellow in American Culture

In the modern day American culture, as of the early 1990s, the color yellow is often used to symbolize support for our American armed forces who are active duty and who are engaged in conflicts overseas. 

Although many people don't know it - even if they have yellow ribbons on their car - this symbolism comes from a song called “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree” which popularized the use of a yellow ribbons and started the custom of using yellow ribbons as a means of showing support for our troops or for our military in general. 

Yellow in Other Cultures

In other cultures there is a different answer to what the color yellow symbolizes. For example, the yellow ribbon has represented courage and honor and loyalty, such as in the World War II Japanese military, where a yellow chrysanthemum flower pinned to the soldier’s uniform denoted his loyalty to the Emperor and to Japan.         

Negative Symbolism from Yellow

Not all of the answers to what yellow symbolizes are positive. Yellow has frequently had a cowardly or negative connotation.  For example, people who shy away from conflicts or who do not face up to others when necessary are often called “yellow bellied” or have it said that they are “yellow” and cowardly. 

“Yellow Journalism” was a term coined in the 1800s to denote journalists who were cowardly in their calls for war or other conflict, whether social, military, or journalistic, without any solid backing for their own ideals or for the conflicts that they were calling for.  William Randolph Hearst was considered to be a pioneer of such “yellow journalism” in the newspaper industry.

Determining the Meaning of Yellow

It is obvious that the color yellow has many different meanings, as well as positive and negative connotations, depending upon who is observing the color and who is making the determination as to what it symbolizes.  As with most symbolism or meaning questions, examining the context of the usage or decision to use the color yellow will help to determine what symbolism it may have for the author, artist, or individual who is presenting it. Thus, to know the answer of what the color yellow symbolizes, you also have to know the context in which it is being used.