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Three Prongs to Pinktober’s Problems

Three Prongs to Pinktober’s Problems

Sure, there are likely more than three prongs to Pinktober’s problems, but these three stand out.

My discontent with Pinktober (Breast Cancer Awareness Month) is not about the color pink or pink ribbons at all. It goes much deeper than that. I actually love pink. I’ve been writing about this stuff for years now, as have many others. But clearly, we still have work to do. Lots of work.

As I see it, there are three major prongs to Pinktober’s (and beyond) problems. Pinktober shenanigans have leeched out into other months as well. For instance, there’s the annual Twin Cities Mother’s Day Race for the Cure®. Yep, May is BCAM Part 2.

The three major prongs to Pinktober’s problems:

1. Marketing Tactics

The pink ribbon morphed into a far more successful marketing tool than anyone could’ve ever imagined. For years now, everyone’s been hopping onto the pink ribbon bandwagon in order to sell stuff and lots of it. If you can eat it, drink it, wear it, bake with it, play with it, hammer with it, even put your trash in it, there’s likely a pink version of such a product waiting for your purchase at your local retailer.

The pink ribbon’s been a marketing goldmine. Pink ribbons are used to increase profits as well as a corporation’s image. Talk about bang for your buck, I mean ribbon!

Questions and observations I keep coming back to…

Why is breast cancer the shopping disease anyway?

Why aren’t we shopping to support prostate (or insert any other type) cancer awareness?

What has all this marketing/shopping resulted in regarding improving and saving lives?

The number of deaths (41,000 per year in the US alone) to metastatic breast cancer has not changed in years. Unacceptable.

We cannot shop our way out of breast cancer.

Before buying pink/pink ribbon stuff, people need to ask questions such as:

Do any $$$ go to support breast cancer programs or research of any sort?

If so, exactly how much, what programs, what research?

What organization gets the $$$ and what will it do with the money?

Is there a cap on how much is donated? (If there is a cap, the rest might be used to line pockets.)

Think Before You Pink is an initiative from Breast Cancer Action, a great site to check out and to support, btw.

2. Trivializing a still too often deadly disease AND objectifying women’s bodies are both wrong.

In some ways, this bothers me even more than the shopping nonsense. Trivializing breast cancer adds to the illusion that breast cancer is the good cancer. It’s not. It’s horrible. All cancer is. The crazy hoopla and events often generate an almost party-like atmosphere. Walks, races, pink boas, crazy foods shaped into breasts, rocks painted to look like breasts, an unending sea of pink merchandise, and on and on. Too often, it’s over the top. Way over.

It might not seem like any one of these things by itself is all that bad, but when you start to add them all up, it’s pink overload.

In a sense, the pink ribbon has become the Bully of Ribbons. There is resentment out there from other cancer groups. Don’t believe me. Ask around.

Breast Cancer is not pretty, pink or party-like. Period.  

Again, always ask yourself and others if buying that pink mixer or biting into that doughnut with pink frosting and pink sprinkles on top is doing anything to save/improve lives.

OBJECTIFYING – When we see t-shirts with sassy slogans about saving, feeling, grabbing tatas, boobies, honkers, hooters, melons and the like, it demeans and objectifies women. You’d think we’d be way past this by now, but we’re not. The excuse that we’re just “lightening things up” for the younger crowd that usually gets tossed around, doesn’t cut it. Total BS.

Such messaging distracts from the serious business of saving lives. It’s time to STOP trivializing a still too often deadly disease.

And remember, men get breast cancer too. How do you think all this makes them feel?

To grab a copy of my FREE ebook, Pink Is Just a Color, Ribbons Are Just Ribbons: A collection of writings about Pinktober shenanigans, Click Here.

3. There’s been a failure to move beyond awareness and overly-simplistic messaging.

  • Who isn’t aware, in this part of the world anyway?
  • We need to move beyond basic awareness.
  • We need complete messaging – it’s not all about early detection and mammograms.
  • 20-30% breast cancers will metastasize regardless of stage at diagnosis. Sure, early detection is a good thing, but it’s not the complete story.
  • We must include the faces and stories of those living with metastatic breast cancer. I repeat, we MUST.
  • It’s shocking how many people are not even aware what metastatic breast cancer means.
  • This is a colossal failure of BCAM is it not? How can the group in most need be left out?
  • Focus should be on researching everything about metastasis – how to prevent it, slow it down, stop it, how/why it happens in the first place.
  • We need to focus on extending and improving QOL for those enduring life-long treatment for metastatic disease.
  • The group in greatest need should be getting the most support and this has not been the case. Women and men with metastatic breast cancer tell me all the time they feel excluded. Unacceptable.
  • Breast cancers are NOT all the same. For example, why isn’t there more messaging about inflammatory breast cancer (IBC)?

There are plenty of things we can all do!

Read my blog. Read my memoir. I refuse to sugarcoat!

Read what others write. Listen to what others say.

Educate yourself about the FULL spectrum of this disease.

Donate to reputable charities/sites whose values align with yours.

12 things you can do all year long to support educated awareness.

This October (and beyond) ask yourself and encourage others to ask, is this helping to save/improve lives?

Because 41,000 women and men are still dying from metastatic breast cancer every single year in the US alone.

We need to do better. We must do better.

I support:  

Breast Cancer Action

Metavivor

Metastatic Breast Cancer Network

METUP

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If you feel this post has value, please share it. Thank you.

How do you feel about Breast Cancer Awareness Month this year?

Which prong do you feel is most problematic?

 

Note from Nancy: I wrote about cancer language, cancer worry, survivor guilt, loss, pet grief, COVID-19, DIEP flap surgery, life as an introvert, aging, resiliency, and more in EMERGING. Available at Amazon and most other online booksellers. Click on the image below to order your copy today!

 

How do you even start to emerge from a cancer diagnosis, loss, the pandemic, or any trauma? #cancer #grief #petloss #pandemic #trauma #womenshealth #familyrelationships

The three prongs to Pinktober's Problems #pinkisnotacure #pinkribbons #ressearchnotribbons #BCAM #breastcancerawareness

Shawn

Wednesday 25th of October 2023

The part about just lightening it up surely hit me with the t shirt sayings that people and companies come up with. Recently one saying "Grapefruit, oranges or lemons? Cancer doesn't care about breast size." So insensitive. I won't be saying where I work to anyone now.

Nancy

Thursday 26th of October 2023

Shawn, The insensitive things put on t-shirts and such is just awful. So tasteless - and worse, but I'll leave it at that. Thank you for taking time to comment.

Linda

Wednesday 14th of October 2020

I admit that I have several pink ribbon pins that I wore on my jackets. They're fine. But now I won't buy anything with that symbol because it usually goes no where. But as people have pointed out, the beginning of pink ribbon marketing did help make people aware and results in donations. If that's true, then it's time for an MBC ribbon so we can direct donations to where it's needed most (in my humble opinion).

Nancy

Wednesday 14th of October 2020

Linda, I still have a pink ribbon pin I got too. Not a real pin, it's just a ribbon with safety pin. Not sure why I kept it. Come to think of it, not sure where it is. I wrote a post about it. Yes, of course I did! ha. https://nancyspoint.com/a-tale-of-one-pink-ribbon/ Thanks for reading and sharing.

Linda Boberg

Wednesday 2nd of October 2019

I am torn with the idea about reading about women who have 'survived' breast cancer and the stories of those who are 'enduring' treatment, especially MBC. This morning I read the story about Emily, the writer of Beyond the Pink Ribbon, read parts of it out loud to my husband. Her story is HARD, but realistic, especially to someone with MBC. Right after that post was one with a feel good story. I'm happy for that woman, but I really don't want that story. I get it: People need to hear about the positive outcomes. But they need to hear about the Emilys because those are the people who need the donations to try and find the cure.

And I may just skip the mall this year. The horrid, decorated bras make me sick.

Nancy

Friday 4th of October 2019

Linda, People need to hear all the stories. The messaging has been incomplete for years and look where that's gotten us. I haven't been to the mall in ages. Guess I'll wait a bit longer before going back. And yeah, those bras...Ugh.

Beth L. Gainer

Monday 12th of November 2018

Hi Nancy,

I think all these prongs cover the problems of Pinktober. I hate -- absolutely hate -- the demeaning of women that occurs. Our society objectifies women, even if breast cancer didn't exist. Now add a cancer that originates in the breast, and our culture goes all-out to make ta-ta and boob job jokes.

Nancy

Monday 12th of November 2018

Beth, I'm with you. Thank you for chiming in.

Mary Ellen Post

Monday 22nd of October 2018

Well Nancy, I cringe at the way breast cancer is trivilized, especially in October. My biggest beef has always been the slogan "Fight Like A Girl". I hated that slogan even long before I got breast cancer. I am not a girl I am a woman. That slogan actually makes me sick. I much prefer " I am woman hear me roar". It is shameful in my opinion to sissify breast cancer and our fight to end it. Secondly, those decorated bras have got to go. Breast cancer is not polka dots, sequins, feathers, furs or buttons on a bra that no one wears. I really wish the commercials and adds were about how painful physically, emotionally and mentally breast cancer, or any cancer,is. I am waiting for the day when they show a woman's body during treatment and after a lumpectomy or mastectomy. Now that would be an honest statement!!!

Nancy

Tuesday 23rd of October 2018

Mary Ellen, I am not a fan of that phrase, fight like a girl, either. And I hear you about the decorated bras. I mean really, how does that help? Keep sharing your bc reality and I'll keep sharing mine. If everyone keeps doing that, I still believe the narrative that is too often inaccurately presented will change over time. Thank you for reading and sharing.