Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Boobs. What's not to love.

Firstly let me start by sending a big hello to all of my loyal readers. It's been somewhat slow this last couple of weeks on the blogging front. I've been hit with a monstrous case of Spring allergies which has put me in a bit of a fog, not dissimilar to a serious case of chemo brain, and in turn causing complete sentence construction rigor mortis.

If you are part of the anti-pink-ribbon-breast-cancer-awareness-related-cause-marketing-circus brigade, as am I, you will be aware of the concern that our culture's overexposure to all things pink and breast-cancerish is leading to a movement that is too busy making everybody "aware" of breast cancer by promoting a false culture of "survivor" hero-worship and overall glamorization of the disease, all whilst purporting to fund raise for the mythical "cure", when in fact, the pink-ribbon movement has just become another marketing tool in the profit-making arsenal of the corporate behemoths and anyone else wishing to hitch their wagon to the pink-washed sideshow.

With that said, this snippet just in from the breast cancer news wires. Yes folks the breast cancer marketing cause has gone all hip and trendy with the high school kids now wearing all manner of merchandise emblazoned with the slogan "I Love Boobies", as part of a breast cancer awareness effort amongst the youth culture by something called the Keep-A-Breast foundation. As recently reported in the Seattle Times, apparently certain high schools are starting to get a bit concerned about the clothing items and their flagrant use and depiction of the term "boobies" claiming that it's leading to conduct unbecoming of their teenage students. And being part of the great democracy that is the U.S.A, of course the banning of such items being worn at school is not about causing offense or being inappropriate but a limit of freedom of expression under the Constitution, the extent to which will no doubt be tested in the Supreme Court by some spotty 16 year old and their over-indulgent parents.

Ho hum, where does one start with this ?

First of all, I go back to my point from this and other posts that Breast Cancer itself, is a highly marketable cause because of it's sex appeal. It's about boobs. Teenagers are obsessed with fashion and boobs. Edgy clothing with the word boobs to appeal to the younger generation ? Genius. Do you think we would ever see a similar campaign for Colon Cancer ? T-shirts with "I Love Small Intestines" ? Or Bladder Cancer ? Bracelets with "I Love Urine", Anal Cancer ? "I Love Ass" ? Doesn't have quite the same cache' now does it.

Secondly. I love boobs as well. At least I loved the ones that I used to have before they became cancerous and had to be surgically removed and rebuilt from other bits of my body and artfully placed lumps of silicone. Does it help me to see some fashion victim teenager parading around with a t-shirt/bracelet/bag emblazoned with "I Love Boobies" all in the name of "breast cancer awareness" and "freedom of expression" fashion, just to remind me of everything that I once loved and then lost because of an insidious and awful disease that struck me without warning ? I don't think so, but here's what I think would help.

Instead of spending your hard-earned money on some dumb-ass tacky t-shirt, a worthless plastic bracelet or a pink bucket of fried chicken, how about just writing a check out for $10.00 and sending it to Breast Cancer Action, a grassroots advocacy organization who are one of the few organizations that can't be bought by the vested interests of soulless corporations and misguided philanthropy.



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