In the swing of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I feel the need to draw attention to something seldom discussed in vein of this topic – the hyper-sexualisation of breast cancer awareness marketing. I want to begin by saying that I am no stranger to the disease. I am very grateful for the enormous donations invested in research and early detection. However, I have become increasingly disturbed and frustrating with the type of marketing that surrounds breast cancer.
I was seven years old when I first became acquainted with breast cancer. My grandmother was diagnosed and underwent full treatment complete with radiation, chemotherapy, and surgery. I became even more familiar with it when six years ago my own mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. More recently, we shook hands again when my remaining grandmother was also diagnosed. Over the years, I have been in and out of more cancer clinics than I can recall. I have seen the good days and the bad days and through this all I feel that I have come to deeply understand life’s beauty. The problem with breast cancer marketing is that it does not focus on life’s beauty but rather it focuses on sex appeal and the value of the breast.
Breast cancer marketing has become increasingly centered on saving the breast and preserving beauty instead of saving the life and preserving the person. In some ways, I understand the appeal to pragmatism and the argument that “sexualizing breast cancer advertisements does not matter too much if it helps us raise more money for research” But believe me, it matters.
First of all, this kind of marketing suggests that the worst part of breast cancer is that women could lose their breasts. Not only is this completely untrue but it is also extremely hurtful to the patients. I can tell you that when the women in my life were under going treatment, the last thing they felt was sexy. We need to support breast cancer patients with the truth that their lives are intrinsically important and not the idea that she is only valued as much as her breasts. Sex appeal should never be put before the importance of survival. Never.
Secondly a sort of callus is produced within society when a horrific and life-shattering disease is reduced into a slogan like “I Love Boobies”. We need to be cognizant of the fact that the language we use shapes our values. We need to move against the notion that the value of a woman is contingent on her outer beauty.
Thirdly, this sort of marketing is targeted at men and it purports the idea that men should support breast cancer research because men love tits. Believe it or not, men are capable of caring about things not related to sex such as their friends, girlfriends, wives, mothers and daughters who could be or are affected by breast cancer. Also, men can also be diagnosed with breast cancer. It is important that society shifts away from this obsession on breasts and focuses on the real issue instead of appealing to shallow and offensive troupes.
Ultimately, breast cancer awareness campaigns need to focus on saving a life because life is what is beautiful.