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Home > Blogs > Women's Life > Archives > 2010 > October > 07 > Entry
Pink products turn into sensory overload
Ok, I’m going to go out on a limb here and talk about something that I think is secretly bugging everyone: TOO MUCH PINK.
Yogurt lids. Football players’ gloves. License plate frames and car magnets. Cosmetics and clothing. Toolboxes. This very newspaper.
It’s getting hard to go anywhere these days and not be surrounded with pink this and pink that, all in the name of breast cancer awareness. (Hubby has dubbed it Boobtober.) At this point, how is it even possible to NOT be aware of breast cancer? We’re practically drowning in it, for an entire month, and some merchandise campaigns run year-round. In a way, “awareness” is becoming an empty word.
Then there’s the ridiculous Internet fad where women are supposed to set their social media status to say “I like it on the __” in reference to where they put their purse when they get home. (“I like it on the counter,” “I like it on the stairs,” etc.)
A similar thing went around last year, where women set their status as simply the color of their bra - no explainer, just the color. The idea behind this is, supposedly, to get people to ask “Huh?” to which the woman replies “It’s for breast cancer!” Unfortunately, that’s typically where it ends. Any arguments of starting a conversation about breast cancer pretty much go out the window.
I can maybe, kind of, understand the bra thing. Bras and breasts go together. But purses have actually been “claimed” as a metaphor for cervical cancer, because the top of an open purse, when viewed from above, can sometimes look like… well, you can figure that out. At the very least, the only thing a purse and a pair of breasts have in common is that a woman usually has one of each.
The sad thing is, even if these memes do raise “awareness” for breast cancer, they do so at the expense of female dignity. Both are clearly directed at getting men’s attention with implied risque imagery (the bra thing) or double entendre (the purse thing). Most women really couldn’t care less what color bra another woman is wearing, or where she puts her purse. Posting these details for all to read online is, at best, flirting, and at worst, pointless voyeurism.
It’s a controversial claim, but I’ve seen some online discussions about how breast cancer only gets this much attention because of the inherent sex appeal of breasts. A popular (and sarcastic) response to the bra meme last year was for men to post the color of their own undies to raise awareness for prostate or testicular cancer. A somewhat more disturbing response had to do with bowel movements and colon cancer.
The point being, the prostate and the colon are not automatically sexy, and they don’t come with cute slogans like “Save the Ta-Ta’s!” Cancer itself is not sexy either, but using sex to raise money for cancer seems to be okay. Because really, who is going to argue against anything you’re doing if you’re raising money for cancer?
But that also leads to the question of, how long before we see a “Wet T-shirt Contest for the Cure!” or “Body Shots for Boobies!” or “Girls Gone Wild and Aware!”
Now, I’m not saying that awareness is bad, but for it to have any effect whatsoever, it has to be followed up with action. I am, for example, aware of the three empty soda bottles on my desk, but simply acknowledging that they’re there is not getting them any closer to the recycling bin. I have to take that action myself.
Pink products are a start (as long as they’re actually donating money and not just jumping on the bandwagon) because a portion of the proceeds goes to charity. But remember, another portion, usually the larger portion, goes in the piggy bank for the company who made that product.
So if you really want to donate to a breast cancer charity, instead of loading your grocery cart with $100 worth of pink-labeled goods and see maybe $5 of that go to charity, why not just donate directly to the charity itself?
And instead of making your social media status some cryptic, exploitative message regarding your unmentionables, why not pay tribute to someone you know who is struggling with or has died from breast cancer? If millions of women across the web do this, it doesn’t just raise awareness for the disease itself, it makes a specific point of how widespread and prevalent it is and how many lives it has already claimed.
And that’s what people really need to be aware of. That’s the kind of information that will prompt people to ask “What can I do about this?” in a way that flirting via status update will not.
So, sorry if I’m ruining your fun, ladies, but after all, breast cancer isn’t fun, and the race to cure it isn’t sexy. Actions speak louder than all the bra colors in the world.
Permalink | Comments (6) | Post your comment | Categories: charities
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By Max
October 8, 2010 5:36 AM | Link to this
Marisa, the problem with your excellent commentary is it is directed to a female audience. Breast cancer is all our concern and making that concern translate into more funding - remember, NIH was REALLY slow way back then in funding and research - through marketing isn’t all that bad of a thing. There are those factions which hold to some ‘religious values’ they view are in conflict with some of the marketing strategies. Still, I think this is a valid case of the means justifying the ends. Males need involved more and if it takes a wet tee-shirt to get their attention to this horrible affliction, then I hope they have a large stack of dollar bills….
By Melissa
October 12, 2010 10:53 AM | Link to this
Marisa, where I understand your view point on the overload of “Pink” items, you will never think that there is “too much” when breast cancer affects someone you love…
By "Active Fundraiser"
October 12, 2010 5:51 PM | Link to this
Max, I totally agree with your comments above. While raising money for the breast cancer walk coming up, I had my husband help me “fundraise” thru facebook, and his idea to attract his friend’s attention to my cause was a “revealing picture” of a woman’s chest. It definitely caught their attention, and it helped me raise a few extra dollars that I wouldn’t have raised without his posting the picture. Now, Marisa, I also 100% agree with the last 6 paragraph’s of your viewpoint. Unfortunetly though, now it seems people don’t respond to requests online, especially for money towards a cause, unless there’s something intriguing or flirty when you’re asking. People always are willing to “buy pink” when at Kroger, or Target, thinking they’re helping, but when asked for $5 to the charity itself, it’s like pulling teeth. Which shouldn’t be the case, but it is. I hope people read your article and think, “what can I do about this, that will really help?”
By Not all girls like pink
October 14, 2010 2:38 PM | Link to this
Although pink never was my favorite color, I don’t mind it being used for breast cancer awareness. What bugs me a lot more than “pinktober” is the lack of awareness for other types of cancer, and therefore I have to agree with the writer of the article.
By barbara
October 23, 2010 10:30 AM | Link to this
Marisa, I understand where you are coming from. Awareness of cancer, a dreaded disease, is on everyone’s mind if they care for their health. But this pink has gotten out of hand. How is this actually going to help breast cancer? What if we have everything “blue” for prostate cancer awareness…is that going to help cure the disease? I think this Pink bs is just “PC” and also playing on emotions. Our recycling truck is painted pink with pink lids on the recycling cans, which were not environmentally aesthetic in our yard, but the company would not change it, so they are losing our business. Not to say we don’t care about everyone with breast cancer and any other form of cancer, but we also promote healthy lifestyles…..I know that is not 100% cure, but playing on emotions is a vacuous behavior!
By American Made
November 1, 2010 2:36 PM | Link to this
I think this story should be pulled. First off, there are some pretty tasteless references in here (a purse resembling a…) And second off - If ONE person is inspired by the color PINK to have a mammogram, or do a self-exam, it’s worth it. Having lost my sister to this horrible disease and watching my mother suffer from it as well - I completely SUPPORT it.