Pinktober Revolution

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Comments

  • dogmomrunner
    dogmomrunner Member Posts: 501

    "Chinese Auction" is weirder than "Cheese Auction".

  • kathindc
    kathindc Member Posts: 1,667

    Re the poster. If they’re raising money for breast cancer, why are they using ribbon colors that represent other cancers? Very tacky!!

  • I checked out their Facebook page. They actually donate monies raised to people in their local community who have any type of cancer and are facing personal challenges.

    I wish that they didn't have such a tacky, inappropriate event but we see women who've been diagnosed with breast cancer who have "Goodbye to the Boobies" parties. At least their money is going directly to cancer patients in the communityand not to some useless charity that focuses on breast cancer awareness or spends all their money on salaries and administration.

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    Given that their funds go to people with any type of cancer, perhaps they should add activities to the event such as a free throw contest called "Bag the Balls!" and maybe change the name of the event to the "Boobie and Beanbag Party!" Be equal opportunity inappropriate!

  • spookiesmom
    spookiesmom Member Posts: 8,178

    image

    Two birds with one stone

  • alicebastable
    alicebastable Member Posts: 1,956

    Incorporate Beesie's idea for prostate cancer inclusion with those shirts, with a Halloweenies addition to the Boo Bees!

  • Mominator
    Mominator Member Posts: 1,173

    AliceB, yes that is offensive.

    you can start by call "Sully" at 585.....and tell Sully all the things wrong with that poster.

    Good luck,

    Mominator

  • alicebastable
    alicebastable Member Posts: 1,956

    Nominator, I would do that if I lived in the area. But Hubby and I are on vacation and just passing through. I don't want to do a "hit and run" type of complaint.

  • Mominator
    Mominator Member Posts: 1,173

    How does this help the cause?

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    Just jumping on the pink bandwagon.

  • Artista928
    Artista928 Member Posts: 1,458

    omg lol!

  • Well, quite appropriate, I think, since putting up with all the pink crap in October is sure to drive all of us bananas.

  • kathindc
    kathindc Member Posts: 1,667

    Touché

  • moderators
    moderators Posts: 8,699

    Beesie, that was the best! Thank you for that.

  • sbelizabeth
    sbelizabeth Member Posts: 956

    I would guess whomever this is used for would have to have been extremely "aware." Yeesh.

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  • Keepongoing
    Keepongoing Member Posts: 30

    I am 4 years post diagnosis ,3 years post treatment . I don’t usually mind most of the pink shirts and have several from before and after diagnosis ( some gifts, some bought by myself at work, I work at at a hospital ). Most people mean well that I buy from. I take offense at the save the ta ta ones ,save second base ones because I have early stage and second bases are gone!! However this shirt came across my FB feed and it really struck a nerve!! The 5k was sponsored by the funeral home .!!! I guess we do give them a lot of business !!!! How could who ever designed this not see the bad taste ???!😪image

  • Artista928
    Artista928 Member Posts: 1,458

    I'm sure most mean well. My friend gave me a pink watch. I thanked her and gave it to my infusion center to give away.

  • alicebastable
    alicebastable Member Posts: 1,956

    People who "mean well" can be taught to mean better.

  • rubyredslippers
    rubyredslippers Member Posts: 94


    Here's my Pinktober lowlight ...

    Local foundfation that raises money to provide practical help to local women going through bc - they actually do great things to help so they have my 200% support for what they actually do. However, they pinkwash the shit out of breast cancer - once again led by a woman who has not had breast cancer.

    things like BBQ for Boobs - with the two o's in the word boobs pictured as "boobs" - pictured selling sausages which is a carcinogenic product. Pictures of fundraisers where a man is decked out in pink with a pair of fake breasts strapped to his chest - saying that our organisation is "all about boobs" ... It was interesting to me to read what this woman had to say about why so many of us hate October - from her perspective as a woman who likes to pinkwash breast cancer. She talked about how many women that have had breast cancer hate October due to thinking that a product turned pink isnt helping and it might remind us of an anniversay, that we're worried about where the funds are going but conveniently left out that a big part of it is the sexualisation, trivialisation and pinking up of an ugly cancer that has wreaked so much havoc in our lives. She goes on to say that October has a "pink message" attached ... which is apparently all about women who have never experienced the anger of cancer because they've havent had it (yet ...), telling us that breast cancer is pink and all about our boobs - that's the pink message I feel.

    I proceeded to make comments about how it's time to put away the boob jokes and have more respect for cancer survivors. I wrote how angry the picture of the man with the breasts on his chest made me feel. I talked about how angry and offended I felt that breast cancer was being sexualised and trivialised. I provided links to opinions of other women about how this makes so many of us feel.

    Well ... the president of this foundation deleted all of my comments and has now blocked me from commenting on this page - and also from her pinkwashed as hell page. I had not written on her page - I'd not even heard of this women until recently. But she's blocked me just in case ... Not once did I swear, I simply wrote what I felt about the images they were promoting and their style of fundraising which is to pinkwash and sexualise breast cancer. I felt that as a breast cancer "survivor" I had a right to have my say. Apparently not unless I embrace her style of what breast cancer is about - pink and boobs.

    The moral of this story is as women that have had breast cancer and HATE all of the pink boobs crap we are not welcome at the table. We are not given a voice. We are removed from not only the table but the whole room - by women who have had not had breast cancer. Breast cancer fundraising is about making breast cancer about "boobs", pink and secret messages that only women who havent had breast cancer understand. She leads a support group with the very psychologist who told me that cancer would definately come back and made jokes about me and my dad dying of cancer - which has caused me extraordinary levels of distress and depression - as if the cancer recurring wasnt enough. So condescending - don't speak out about our pinkwashing - then you're the ungrateful jerk. Squash your anger down girls - that's how we're treated. We live in a world full of women who think they understand but actually have no bloody idea - then tell us our feelings are wrong.

    Anyone think I'm wrong?

  • rubyredslippers
    rubyredslippers Member Posts: 94

    Alicebastab - not in my experience. Pink stuff is all about women who havent had breast cancer - they don't care what we think. As long as we agree with them.

  • rubyredslippers
    rubyredslippers Member Posts: 94

    sbelizabeth - your view on why breast cancer gets all the attention is right. Because of the objectification of the female body. Would it be ok to use the slogan “save the cocks" or similar for men's cancers? Women dressed in blue with strap on penis and testicles at fundraising events? “BBQ for cocks“ to raise money for en effected by prostate cancer?

    Of course not. Neither should this be ok for breast cancer. Further it would mean things are way out of hand if men who'd had these cancers were silenced if they said they hated it.

    If a large portion of the people who have had the cancer you're fundraising for hate your approach it's time to re think your approach.

  • traveltext
    traveltext Member Posts: 1,055

    rubyredslippers, I view Pinktober through the eyes of a male with breast cancer. For men, all the pink products, the pink hoopla, the fun runs, etc, are a distraction which does nothing to alert men to their chances of getting this disease. In fact, it blindsides men who might have lumps that could mean cancer. This means men present late, are diagnosed late, and have a poorer prognosis.

    I also have prostate cancer and I’m not sure all your suggestions on how to make men aware of this and other male cancers would resonate with men. It seems to me that it’s women going on with all this pink rubbish more than men. Sure men might join in, and sure female breasts are commodified and sexualized, but it’s women running the pink charities who have gone all out to raise funds around all these inappropriate parodies of breasts.

    Like you, I hate this month vehemently.


  • dogmomrunner
    dogmomrunner Member Posts: 501

    Traveltext- I agree that it is women who push for the pinkification of this disease. Of course a man is not going to feel comfortable being diagnosed with a "woman's disease". And that's a shame that it will lead to men not being diagnosed in time to help them

  • rubyredslippers
    rubyredslippers Member Posts: 94

    travelled I agree. It is always women who haven't had breast cancer pushing it

  • Mominator
    Mominator Member Posts: 1,173

    Today's Pinktober reminder:

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    Hint water is donating to Komen. Komen has some good information on their website, including several references throughout the site and an entire page on breast cancer in men.

    Maybe they have been listening to Traveltext!

    Less than a week of Pinktober left!!

  • traveltext
    traveltext Member Posts: 1,055

    Thanks Mominator, lovin’ all the pink. Can you post a link to that Komen page?


  • Mominator
    Mominator Member Posts: 1,173

    Komen website, "About Breast Cancer"

    https://ww5.komen.org/BreastCancer/FactsandStatist...

    the male breast cancer page:

    https://ww5.komen.org/BreastCancer/BreastCancerinM...

    "Metastatic Breast Cancer is unacceptable"

    https://mbc.komen.org/

  • traveltext
    traveltext Member Posts: 1,055


    Thanks for that Mominator. I can see that they've just updated the male page on Updated 10/18/19.

    Good stuff. We're all making a difference in our own way. I'll miss Pinktober. Not.


  • bettysgirl
    bettysgirl Member Posts: 645

    I can't stand pink-tober ! I know there are some women who have had breast cancer and wear the pink like a badge. I do not. I have a dear high school friend that had done several Komen walks. We have a lady here that started a support group and had it lead each month by the nurses from the hospitals breast clinic... They did not like me. Most of their message was pink fluffy positive vibes... The best meeting we had was the info on generic testing and the updated genes they are testing for. They did not seem to like it that I had prosthetics but loved being flat and did not wear them. They really didn't like it when I mentioned getting free knitted knockers (their boutique sells prosthetics.) They didn't like it that I said my breast cancer's severity was not detected via mammogram but rather MRI. There is a dialogue that is accepted and they do not like it if you do not agree with the pink washed truth. They do NOT want you to talk about stage 4, they promoted Komen a lot, but in the long run, I think the pink washing was what lead to the low attendance and the group ceasing to meet. My co-worker had bc many years ago and cannot tell you anything about size, grade, stage.. She had surgery and no treatments but said if she had not had the surgery she would have been dead in 6 months... It does not add up. She wears her pink with pride. Yesterday it was a pink chiffon scarf for a belt on her jeans, pink t shirt, bc earrings and pin, pink shoes... She was a walking bill board. That's her choice. I was going through treatments my first pinktober and every checkout line I went in asked me if I wanted to donate to bc awareness. I finally told one girl that I was giving it all I had to give. Many buy the pink products to make themselves feel better and do not question where the money goes. I posted somewhere else that you do not see mass marketing for prorate cancer... Men aren't the emotional buyers that women are and corporate America knows that...I am thankful it's almost over!

  • alicebastable
    alicebastable Member Posts: 1,956

    Excellent post, bettysgirl! I have heard a few ads for cancer treatment this year that address stage 4, and also mention that there are different types of breast cancer, and that men can get it. Better late than never, I guess, but I don't see that same information from the other products supposedly promoting pink whatever. The one that bugs me, and I need to try a screen capture next time it pops up, is one of those "Do you know the signs of metastatic breast cancer?" links, but the woman in the illustration is grabbing her breast, with an agonized expression on her face. Someone needs to tell them that metastatic does NOT mean it shows up just in the breast.

  • traveltext
    traveltext Member Posts: 1,055

    Ads are always a worry. Grabbing your liver would not be as dramatic!

    Only a few more pink shopping days to go!

  • alicebastable
    alicebastable Member Posts: 1,956

    Grab the liver, bones, lungs, brain, etc... I'm mostly concerned that people would think a sore breast means metastatic cancer. There are enough newbies already freaking out on the "not diagnosed" threads.