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After that long and fascinating interchange here on I [heart] boobies I was convinced that that campaign MEANS well even if I find how they spend their money to be completely misguided (and I still stand by that). It was totally worth my (our) while to engage with those folks and I hope that they listen and rethink both how their message affects those of us who’ve been through cancer treatment AND how they spend the funds they’re raking in with those bracelets.
And then I read this post on ”uneasy pink“:
“I had a sickening interesting experience on facebook over the weekend. First, some background. Last Pinktober, I posted about my personal disdain for the name of an organization, Feel Your Boobies. I believe it trivializes and sexualizes breast cancer while spitting in the face of people who don’t find breast cancer to be so cute. The founder of the organization commented on my blog and we had a very, very civil exchange of ideas about the topic. I came away respecting her, even if she didn’t change my mind. Then I logged onto my facebook page and saw this:
Apparently Feel Your Boobies (FYB) gave away a FYB bike to a FYB pin-up gal. Okay, whatever. Now take a look at the responses to the photo, remembering this is about raising awareness of breast cancer….
And, I might add, nearly 250,000 people “like” this campaign…..
I have to stop posting about this now. It’s making me too crazy. But while it doesn’t do much to raise awareness about breast cancer, I hope it’s raised YOUR awareness of what these Tata-boobies “breast cancer” campaigns are actually about.
Finally, one REALLY IMPORTANT THING. National Breast Cancer Coalition has a new, highly intelligent, ambitious campaign aiming to end breast cancer by 2020. It might actually do some GOOD. And isn’t that what we really want?
The comments for that photo are pretty tasteless. What’s worse, is that it seems the page moderator has deleted some comments that might have opposed the “boobies” approach, but left the tasteless comments up.
There is a link that a user posted to a site called the Scar Project that I find interesting and provocative. But who wants to see the actual effects of breast cancer when we can see healthy bouncing “boobies” or buy a pink frying pan?
I put up the link to The Scar Project again.
Over the weekend I was turned in to the facebook police for posting it on the Feel Your Boobies fb page. That’s right folks! They reported me and that meant that I couldn’t post on any pubic fb pages. Nice eh? Where do you think their priorities are? My guess is they wanna sell stuff and make money. Oh, and I have tons of screen shots.
Sex sells!!
Don’t worry, Dorry… the ban is temporary. Recalled Mayor Carlos Alvarez did the same to me but it only lasts a few hours or days. Thanks for the post. PS… I think the Scar Project is awesome and if they want my pic, they can have it!
Peggy, as the author of Uneasy Pink, THANK YOU.
All day long people have been trying to dialog about this and the booby people keep taking down comments. And I’m talking rational, respectful comments that simply question their status quo. Someone asked if they would consider retooling their mission so that money can go into researching why some women, even those treated with an early stage cancer, still advance to Stage IV. She asked the founder directly. Her comment was simply deleted.
Thanks again,
Katie
I am the person whom Katie refers to in the above comment. I thought I was finally getting a dialogue going with the founder of Feel the Boobies. Here’s what the “conversation” looked like:
ANNA: Lighten up? Have a sense of humor? Support the cause??? I was 33 when I found my cancer through BSE. Great news right? Validates this campaign? Wrong. I’m now 40 and have metastatic breast cancer, despite doing everything “right”. bSe did not and will not save my life. The only hope that I have is a miracle that might come from research. But it’s not a popular fundraising mission. How much more awareness do we possibly need? 250,000 people “like” this website. That’s great. What if you all gave $10 to research rather than buying more products? What if everybody else did the same? I pray that no one finds themselves in my position. But if you do or a loved one does, perhaps you might understand the utter frustration and anger that many of us feel in how little progress is actually being made in the fight to end this disease. Unfortunately I find very little humor in any of this. If you want to know more read The National Breast Cancer Coalition’s white paper. It’s eye opening. Open your eyes and your hearts to the truth about what is really going on.
Feel Your Boobies Foundation: Anna, this is Leigh (FYB Founder) I’m sorry to hear about your diagnosis and was also diagnosed at age 33 by feeling my boobies. I have to believe if you or I had not found our lumps our cases would have been much worse when detected. I too believe that research is the key to a cure to breast cancer and am supportive of organizations that fund it. We however, focus on promoting proactive breast health with our campaign –which we believe involves getting to know your body in order to know when a change occurs and aids in early detection. The American Cancer Society still promotes ‘breast awareness’ as part of their screening guidelines and that is what we promote as well.
This is my response that was DELETED by Feel Your Boobies
ANNA: Leigh I responded to you but it looks like my comment got deleted. My point is that although BSE led us both to diagnosis science cannot tell us why I metastasized and you did not, and I pray you will never. This is a huge knowledge gap and one that can only be funded by research. Personally I don’t like the innuendos of your campaign but you’ve obviously been successful in marketing your cause. Why not leverage that success and start funding research that would help young women I.e. Better screening, treatments, real prevention factors and risks, a cure? Staying focussed on education and awareness just isn’t going to move this fight to end breast cancer forward. Why not recalibrate the message and refocus your priorities. How much more awareness do we need?
Anna, you are admirably restrained in these posts. Her censorship is especially onerous for one who claims to support the cause of women diagnosed with breast cancer. Forget handling your boobies–learn to handle dissent!
Know anything about their finances, BTW? How much goes where?
I looked at their Latest Form 990 for 2009. Gross receipts were about $268k with about $240k in expenditures. $180k went on the FYB program which included $55k in salaries, 38k on professional fees and remainder to overhead and other production costs. The other $60k was costs of sale for merchandise. I’ll be interested to see how 2010 has grown.
So do you have a sense of how that ratio compares in terms of ethical use of money for charities?
What bothered me the most was that comments were deleted, and not the offensive “lol i want 2 touch boobies!!!” ones. Really sad, honestly.
Gayle Sulik, author of pink ribbon blues (which looks at the impact of the pink ribbon culture–or its lack–on women’s health, posted this in the comments of my previous boobies entry. I thought I’d post it here, too, because it bears repeating:
In addition to the comments that point to real concerns about sexualizing women for the cause, trivializing the disease, spreading misinformation (i.e., I’m sorry but the consensus is strong that BSE does NOT detect tumors early and is NOT found to reduce deaths), and diverting attention and money from useful information, activities, and research that could make a real difference, the boobies slang and imagery is trendy and popular enough that the money flies in. What is it flying to? According to a story by NBC last October, the foundation has used more money for t-shirts, salaries, travel expenses, and office expenses EACH than it has given to its breast cancer related grants. Sex sells, as usual. But the outcomes are shoddy at best. It’s time to galvanize the power that this organization has amassed and do something that will have an impact on the eradication of this disease without demeaning women as a group.
thank you.
Peggy,
I’m with you all the way. I also had just blogged about the boobies campaigns because I want to believe it can be a big tent. Like you, I didn’t want to blog about it again but likely will.
I have to tell you, I still don’t care if someone calls them boobies or tatas or whatever. I mean, my blog is called Dispatch From Second Base.
The complete and utter lack of respect toward Katie and others who weren’t on the “boobie bandwagon” is what I can’t take. The fact that the FYB Facebook administrators would allow the disrespect, censor disagreement and allow all those Beavis and Butthead “Boobies–heh heh heh” remarks in the first place, makes me wonder what they are really trying to accomplish.
I’m going to grit my teeth, “like” them, and comment. And see how long it stays up. And I’m going to blog about this for what I hope is the last time.
The comments are in bad taste, I just finished a breast health promotion event in the BME community. A lady pulled me aside and told me she raised £7,000 pounds for cancer research, breast cancer wiped out my family. What i want to know is where does all that money go because so many of my family are still dying and they haven’t found a cure or directed research into our community. ( Black) Im not doing it anymore she said disheartened by the whole affair. She felt cheated.
What a tasteless, derogatory, immature campaign.
I’m with you on this, Peggy.
I want to thank Peggy, Gayle, Katie, and all of you for helping to educate me better. I am the widower of a woman who lost her battle with breast cancer last year. We have two young kids, 13 and 5. I want a world free of breast cancer and free of the nasty campaigns that do more emotional and physical harm than anything else.
Steven, your voice here continues to mean so much to me. Thank you.
Steven,
I’m so sorry about your wife. I have two young kids too and when I was diagnosed, leaving them was my deepest fear. I hope you are doing ok.
Katie
I have just stumbled upon you/your book (Cinderella…on hold at the library) since hearing your piece on All Things Considered in February. So impressed! Your angle on the whole breastcancer thing…intriguing. I like it! I read your times article from last fall, I love the points you make. I have always approached the whole breast cancer awareness/prevention thing with great trepidation simply due to the abortion/birth control link. Komen and their ties with Planned Parenthood appall me. But your angle in the times article…I like it. I like it a lot. And sadly that was something that had never really crossed my mind, even though I’ve been uneasy with “pink” for some time now. Thanks, I look forward to following your blog.
Thanks, Monica. I’m not sure what you mean about the abortion/birth control link with breast cancer, but I’m glad you’re finding value in this discussion of pink-washing!
Thanks for the reply! Check out this article, it is very well-cited, and I think you’ll find it to be a good explanation when it comes to the links between birth control and breast cancer.
http://catholicexchange.com/2011/01/17/146008/
Monica, Because of my history of breast cancer, I don’t use hormonal birth control. I also wouldn’t/can’t use hormones during menopause. However, for most people, I think the research is less clear cut and it comes down to choice and comfort level. I appreciate this article in Slate on the topic:
http://www.slate.com/id/2267683/
And here is what the National Cancer Institute says it:
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/oral-contraceptives
A woman’s risk of developing breast cancer depends on several factors, some of which are related to her natural hormones. Hormonal factors that increase the risk of breast cancer include conditions that may allow high levels of hormones to persist for long periods of time, such as beginning menstruation at an early age (before age 12), experiencing menopause at a late age (after age 55), having a first child after age 30, and not having children at all.
A 1996 analysis of worldwide epidemiologic data conducted by the Collaborative Group on Hormonal Factors in Breast Cancer found that women who were current or recent users of birth control pills had a slightly elevated risk of developing breast cancer. The risk was highest for women who started using OCs as teenagers. However, 10 or more years after women stopped using OCs, their risk of developing breast cancer returned to the same level as if they had never used birth control pills, regardless of family history of breast cancer, reproductive history, geographic area of residence, ethnic background, differences in study design, dose and type of hormone, or duration of use. In addition, breast cancers diagnosed in women after 10 or more years of not using OCs were less advanced than breast cancers diagnosed in women who had never used OCs. To conduct this analysis, the researchers examined the results of 54 studies. The analysis involved 53,297 women with breast cancer and 100,239 women without breast cancer. More than 200 researchers participated in this combined analysis of their original studies, which represented about 90 percent of the epidemiological studies throughout the world that had investigated the possible relationship between OCs and breast cancer (2).
The findings of the Women’s Contraceptive and Reproductive Experiences (Women’s CARE) study were in contrast to those described above. The Women’s CARE study examined the use of OCs as a risk factor for breast cancer in women ages 35 to 64. Researchers interviewed 4,575 women who were diagnosed with breast cancer between 1994 and 1998, and 4,682 women who did not have breast cancer. Investigators collected detailed information about the participants’ use of OCs, reproductive history, health, and family history. The results, which were published in 2002, indicated that current or former use of OCs did not significantly increase the risk of breast cancer. The findings were similar for white and black women. Factors such as longer periods of use, higher doses of estrogen, initiation of OC use before age 20, and OC use by women with a family history of breast cancer were not associated with an increased risk of the disease (3).
In a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-sponsored study published in 2003, researchers examined risk factors for breast cancer among women ages 20 to 34 compared with women ages 35 to 54. Women diagnosed with breast cancer were asked whether they had used OCs for more than 6 months before diagnosis and, if so, whether the most recent use had been within 5 years, 5 to 10 years, or more than 10 years. The results indicated that the risk was highest for women who used OCs within 5 years prior to diagnosis, particularly in the younger group (4).
Thank you for the information. There seem to be a lot of conflicting numbers out there on the topic for sure. I think it’s one that many people don’t want to address, birth control is pretty “status quo”, and who wants to challenge that?
The Women’s Health Initiative Study, one of the most recent, comprehensive studies on the topic, was actually halted 3 years ahead of schedule because researchers found that the hormones were causing small but significant increases in the risk of breast cancer, heart disease, strokes and blood clots in the lungs. Here’s a times article from last Fall that explains a bit more and provides some citation to the research done in the study.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/20/health/20hormone.html
There is a definite link between estrogen/HRT and breast cancer. That fact can’t be disputed. There is more estrogen in birth control than in HRT, and it is (typically) being dumped at a higher, more long-term rate into younger women’s bodies over a longer period of time. To me, these facts speak for themselves.
Someone just let me know that the link to my blog isn’t working. If you click on my name in any of these comments, it will take you there.
uneasypink.com
Thanks!!
Thanks to everyone who is thoughtfully considering the impact of the boobies campaigns. They fall within the context of awareness campaigns in general that barely scratch the surface when it comes to providing information and messages that have the potential of impacting this huge social problem in meaningful ways. As I write in today’s blog posting: “What GOOD is AWARENESS if…”
…the root causes of breast cancer remain unchanged?
…the information disseminated is inaccurate, incomplete, or decontextualized?
…the messages trivialize, misrepresent, or marginalize the disease or the diagnosed?
…the campaign uses sexualized language and imagery to sell itself?
..the campaign intentionally or inadvertently supports products or services that contribute to the total cancer burden (i.e., pinkwashing)?
…the campaign shifts attention and funding toward programs that will not have an impact on the eradication of the disease, and detracts attention and funding from innovative measures and research that will?
…the campaigns, taken together, divert attention from other diseases that do not have the sexiness of the mainstreamed version of the pink ribbon campaign?
It’s worth considering these nuances of the awareness question. Our lives depend on it.
http://gaylesulik.com/?p=6536
Gayle, thank you so much for this wisdom and leadership.
Ditto what Peggy said, Gayle.
Can we who are horrified see this as an opportunity to reach an otherwise disengaged group of people with our messages, insights, awareness about the issues this raises like sexualization, sexual health, well-being? another way to respond is to engage a captive audience and change the dialogue…we need multiple theories of change in action, critique is absolutely one, guerrilla “outreach” has always been a favorite of mine…
Deb, Totally agree. Gayle Sulik and I are having this very conversation later today the old-fashioned way–by phone. If you have any thoughts or ideas please email me. Are your ears regularly burning as I have discussed your insights nearly every evening for the past 2 months at readings of CAMD?
[...] discussion was picked up by others including the writer Peggy Orenstein, and joined by plenty of bloggers and readers who add lengthy comments, and I am starting to see [...]
[...] Saucy, Sassy, Breast Cancer. Not. and Back on the Boobies Again by Peggy [...]
http://ihatebreastcancer.wordpress.com/2011/04/03/squeeze-the-charmin-not-the-boobies%E2%80%A6/
Well, not that it will do much good, but I did complain to one of the companies that supports KAB.
Here’s a question for us all to ponder. There is a clear link between alcohol and increased risk of cancer (especially breast). Now, only a fool would believe that KAB’s “fans” social activities revolve around meeting Archie and Jughead at the malt shoppe. I saw practically NO information on the danger of alcohol on the KAB site. (Smoking gets roasted tho.)
Hunter PR, rep for Alcatel, proud KAP sponsor, also flogs liquor. Do you see a contradiction?
Peggy,
I’m really late in adding my comment here, but… As you may or may not know, I blogged about the FYB’s campaign on my blog. I have found it all to be quite overwhelming. Sometimes I just want to throw up my hands. However, judging from the response my post and others have received, I KNOW the conversation is shifting at least a bit. I’m glad I found your site. This is such important work. Thank you.