The breast cancer awareness industry has become a multibillion dollar juggernaut spanning multiple continents, flooding them with a sea of pink ribbons and tie-in products intended to entice socially aware consumers. Buy enough pink things, and you, too, will conquer cancer; the next level of awareness is always a step away and with it will […]
Tag: breast cancer awareness
It’s Pink Month Again
Readers may recall that last year I did a series on the problems with breast cancer campaigning, which I don’t really feel the need to repeat; you can poke through my archives if you’re inclined to do so. But, I couldn’t let this year pass without mentioning the issue, and abby jean pointed me at […]
A Multiplicity of Needs: Prevent, Detect Early, Support, Cure
When we examine campaigns focused on breast cancer ‘awareness’ or ‘raising funds for the cure,’ we also need to acknowledge the complex set of needs involved when it comes to talking about campaigns surrounding cancer. I fear that some of these campaigns only focus on one facet, ignoring others, and as a result, they are […]
What Are You Supporting, Exactly?
One of the things that accompanies ‘awareness’ campaigns is the idea that people need to ‘support’ the subject of the campaign in some way. People are sold things like lewd t-shirts and ridiculous rubber bracelets and bumperstickers not only because these things are said to make people more ‘aware,’ but because displaying them in some […]
Tick. Tick. Tick.
The test results tell me there is a time bomb in my chest. When I lie very still at night, sometimes I think I can hear it ticking. If I could see its display, it would spit back meaningless symbols and it would mock me. You don’t know, it would tell me, when I am […]
Delving A Little Deeper Into ‘Massage for the Cure’
For the last few weeks, the radio station has been incessantly running ads for ‘Massage for the Cure,’ an event organised to take place tomorrow. Customers at Massage Envy, a national massage chain, can get a $49 therapeutic massage and $15 of that goes to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation. I actually […]