It seems that with every passing year, breast cancer awareness moves further and further to the forefront of the public consciousness. While it’s hard to complain about efforts to promote awareness of such a terrible and pervasive disease, I would argue that there is a right and wrong way to go about furthering the public’s understanding of breast cancer and efforts to stop it.
My main complaint lies in the widespread sexualization of breast cancer in recent years, which promotes marginalization of victims of the disease and the suffering they experience.
One prominent example of the sexualization of breast cancer is the “Save the Boobies” campaign, which has gained popularity in recent years through the sale of bracelets and other items to support cancer research. While I don’t think it could be argued that the organization’s intentions are anything but pure, its slogan promotes a view of breast cancer victims and women in general as sexual objects who should be valued only for their breasts, rather than emphasizing their holistic importance as a person.
Furthermore, this and similar slogans imply that cancer victims who have lost their breasts are somehow less feminine and less whole as a result. More than just dehumanizing victims who suffer from a very real and destructive disease, this sexualized perspective perpetuates a view of women as subservient to men.
Clearly, the popularity of “Save the Boobies” and other similar campaigns is symptomatic of a larger problem of gender inequality in our society.
The portrayal of women as sexual objects in the media is persistent and real, and it will not stop without equally persistent voices advocating a more complete, comprehensive view of women as people.
While I applaud those people who choose to support breast cancer awareness, I also implore them to think about the negative consequences and overreaching implications of the methods that they choose to do so. Remember: breast cancer victims are, and always will be, more than their breasts.
