(Komen billboard for breast cancer awareness - click for closeup)You'd think it would be hard to say bad things about Komen, who engineered the "Race For the Cure" breast cancer campaign. I was criticized once in a smoky bar (by a bartender with a sister with breast cancer) at the mere suggestion of the over-commercialization of the pink ribbon. But when I see things like the above billboard, I stop cold: a commercialized campaign "for a cause" that looks just like a Hooters ad.
I took this today as I walked up the street to our local coffee shop, on the other side of the El tracks. If you click on the photo, you'll read, "WE ONLY FOCUS ON ONE THING - Or, depending on how you look at it, two."
The only thing worse than this ad is this one, also by Komen, compounding commercialization with casual sex with (rewarding?) violence. For really good discussion on the issue, see Twisty's post at I Blame The Patriarchy. So do I.
By the way, since this is my Flikr post of the week, you might also check out Feministing's Fun With Feminist Flickr series, which I originally thought of before finding more Komen nonsense on the web.
UPDATE: this post linked here and here, both sites worth checking!
Picture(s) of the Week(s): Sarah's Red Crocs, Viking Monkey, Torts Clock
Project 365: Flickr page, What is this?
9 things that people say:
Dude, I saw that exact same billboard and thought the exact same thing like two days ago here in MA.
It's bizarre to me how the female breast is so incredibly sexualized in the culture that most people can't attenuate the link even when they're talking about fatal cancer.
Have you read Sam King's book, Pink Ribbons, Inc.? Might give you some support for your next chat with that bartender.
Cabell, MA too? That makes three places so far, with Chicago and D.C.
Hey Tina, great suggestion. I just read about this book last night on Twisty's page, and am really interested in checking it out.
Not sure if anything could help me with the bartender, though. We were complaining about over-commercialization in general, but the instant I said breast cancer, he switched into lecture mode about the problems with out-of-touch grad students.
Yeah, I saw it in lower Allston, walking back home from the hardware store. I guess I didn't take a picture, although I was actually photographing Allston for posterity at the time.
Found your observations on the Komen billboard amusing. It is saddening, however, that despite all the hype we are no closer to "the cure" than we were 20 or 30 years ago.
Incidentally, I am Ellen's mother, and was one of the first to be grossed out by the comments on Italian canine excrement.
Hello Susan: Yes, exactly! The hype works to effectively sell products, and seems to do little else. So while we say things like "fun with feminist flickr," and they make for good blogging, I agree that it's sad to have to deal with such things in the first place. I'm especially disappointed in what Twisty has come to call "Pink Ribbonity."
Oh, and it's nice to meet a parent! Ellen was a star student in two of my classes last year. Unfortunately, my influence has done little when it comes to taking really gross pictures.
I don't really have a comment, but click on my name for the latest cool link that I found.
I saw something today advertising the marathon, and it showed a woman with a pin on her hat that read: "26.2 miles for bust".
I admit that I appreciate the girl-bonding that can be present in some kitschy women's bodies stuff. But I am in complete agreement of the sexist slant you're giving us here. Whomever was charged with giving the Komen organization more of an edge has overshot the mark and put it into scary territory. It's been said, but I'll echo that it's sad that we can't talk about breast/women's health without continuing to sexualize women's bodies.
Great post, as usual!
Hey Meghan, good point re: girl-bonding. This ad seems very different than perhaps the reclaiming work of Bust or Bitch Magazines.
Ralph, wow what an ordeal. I've considered trying out Library Thing, but successfully waste enough time as it is. Kudos to this guy, though!
Post a Comment