Tags: pink-washing
Posted May 3rd, 2012, in Breast Cancer, Creepy Marketing | 9 Comments
Over the past couple of months, I tried to get a number of editors to bite on this story: the town of Redbank, NJ (which calls itself “hippest town in NJ” thereby, ipso facto, making it not) has painted itself pink “to raise awareness of the importance of breast cancer prevention, detection, and treatment.” I wanted to take apart the whole premise, possibly doing an annotated “memo” of its press release a la Harper’s. Couldn’t get anyone to go for it. I was reminded of the concept again today by Anthony Moro, husband of Rachel Cheetham Moro, the author of The Cancer Culture Chronicles blog (and inspiration to activists everywhere) who died earlier this year of breast cancer. Rachel died in the hospital sponsoring this event. And she would have hated. it. As Anthony writes on the blog, “painting the town pink”: …doesn’t help prevent death from breast cancer. More mammograms don’t [...]
Tags: Disney
Posted September 21st, 2011, in Breast Cancer, Creepy Marketing, Princesses | 5 Comments
According to a new report on bisphenol (BPA) in kids’ canned food released today by the Breast Cancer Fund, Campbell’s Disney Princess and Toy Story soups test highest for that toxin, which is typically used to harden plastic or make the linings of metal food cans. BPA has been linked to breast cancer, infertility and early puberty in girls, as well as prostate cancer in males and type-2 diabetes, obesity and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in both sexes. Isn’t that magic? According to the report BPA exposure is of special concern in children “because this endocrine-disrupting chemical can affect children’s hormonal systems during development and set the stage for later‐life diseases.” Campbell’s wasn’t the only offender, nor was Disney. Even organic brands contain BPA, though in far less parts per billion (ppb): Earth’s Best Organic Elmo Noodlemania Soup had 38 ppb (the Princess pasta had 114) and Annie’s Homegrown Cheesy [...]
Tags: pink, pink ribbon sexualization, pink-washing
Posted June 22nd, 2011, in Breast Cancer | 5 Comments
I’ve been critical of the Keep-a-Breast Foundation’s “I Heart Boobies” bracelets campaign. But I also am a person who gives credit where it’s due, and I very much like the early style, tone and message of their non-toxic revolution campaign. I especially hope they focus on educating girls about potential carcinogens in cosmetics–during and just after puberty they are especially vulnerable. And short of questioning the beauty industry in general, I at least hope KABF can make clean makeup the cool choice. And I’m not talking Cover Girl Clean (for you who grew up in the 1970s). So we’ll see. I’m rooting for them on this one. Though it does seem ironic that all those bracelets will end up as….land fill.
Tags: pink, pink ribbon sexualization
Posted April 21st, 2011, in Breast Cancer | 30 Comments
Elizabeth Rosenberg of “Save the Ta-Tas” wrote to me with her critique of my recent Los Angeles Times editorial, “The Trouble with Those Boobies Bracelets.” I told her I would post her response. So you’ll find it below. But I still take issue: for one thing it says on the top of the site that a mere 25% of revenue goes to cancer-related causes. Compare that to National Breast Cancer Coalition where 86% goes to programs. So where’s that other 75% going? Elizabeth says: “It pains me when I see that Save the Ta-tas® has been grouped with organizations that do very little to fight the war against cancer. The ta-tas® Brand (est. 2004) and Save the Ta-tas® Foundation (est. 2008) were created by Julia Fikse, as a way to fight breast cancer using laughter and fun. Julia’s message of hope and humor has reached thousands of victims and survivors [...]
Tags: pink, pink-washing
Posted April 16th, 2011, in Breast Cancer | 26 Comments
Just read on Komen Watch that only 15% of the money YOU give to/raise for the Komen Foundation goes to research. That’s a REDUCTION of $17 million since 2010. It’s also 4% less than the amount going to their administrative expenses. And the bulk? Goes to “education,” which, guess what–nice but won’t move that needle even a tiny bit closer to a cure. I think they might need to hear from us….. Here’s a pie chart of last year’s funding, thanks to The Cancer Culture Chronicles
Tags: pink ribbon sexualization
Posted March 21st, 2011, in Breast Cancer | 33 Comments
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 [...]
Tags: pink ribbon sexualization
Posted March 10th, 2011, in Breast Cancer | 58 Comments
I just received a press release on this. If a single guy in this video can answer ANY of the following questions, I will believe that he cares about breast cancer activism and not just the free pass to drool over jugs: 1) What does “awareness” of breast cancer mean, anyway? Awareness of what precisely? What are we not aware of? 2) Why, given that the American Cancer society no longer endorses self-exam as useful for ANY woman is the I ♥ Boobies/Keep-a-Breast Foundation raising hundreds of thousands of dollars to promote it among young women (for whom it was NEVER recommended)? 3) At what age are most women diagnosed with breast cancer? 4) Precisely where does the money raised by I ♥ Boobies/Keep A-Breast foundation go and how much do they keep as profit? 5) If a your girlfriend or wife were diagnosed with breast cancer and needed a [...]
Tags: pink
Posted November 18th, 2010, in Breast Cancer | No Comments
The I ♥ boobies founder tells Time, “the best cure for breast cancer is early detection.” That sound you hear is my jaw hitting the floor. She is passing ignorance off as “awareness.”
Tags: pink
Posted November 17th, 2010, in Breast Cancer | No Comments
This was sent to me by the wonderful, whimsical photographer Torrie Groening.
Tags: girlie girl culture, pink, premature sexualization
Posted November 14th, 2010, in Breast Cancer, Why I Wrote CAMD | No Comments
The response I’m getting to the cancer column reflects that people have a hard time separating inappropriate sexualization from healthy sexuality, and what the piece did was help them make that distinction. I’m hoping that’s what Cinderella Ate My Daughter will do too, on a different scale. It’s interesting how tricky the sexualization vs. sexuality thing can be and how often the first pretends to be the second…
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