Pinktober Revolution
Comments
-
please forgive me mods. I hope I don't get kicked off for posting this pic. nothing like thinking of BC to get you in the mood.
0 -
Scuttler, you are not insensitive at all. I can only guess at how you feel to receive such a thing.
0 -
Hello Ladies... just dropping by and feeling "dangerous" with the latest round of LE blues.
Scuttlers, no you aint being sensitive at all. It's them who are being TOTALLY insensitve.
"Celebration of Your Survivorship, Living Well Every Day AFTER Breast Cancer",
Whaaaat? Living well EVERY DAY? WHoever thought that nonsense up needs to hear this...Trade places with me and say that. Duh.
all bedecked in pink flowers, and with "JOYFUL LIVING AFTER BREAST CANCER" on the reverse side.
Same deal ..Joyful living eh? How would you like either trade places with me or shove those words where the sun doesnt reach.
0 -
Argh...I just got my prescriptions from Walgreens...pink lids with the pink ribbon on the bottles. Even my meds aren't safe from the pinking of America.
0 -
I was picking up my son from school the other day and I heard a radio ad for a mammogram party at an area imaging center. They were like grab your girls and enjoy brunch, mimosas and free gifts! It's all fun until some one gets the bad news!
0 -
That's because breast cancer is just so much fun and a great reason to throw a party. Of course it stops being fun when you're told your next party my be your wake/funeral.
0 -
Here's a good article that was published last October called "10 Reasons Why The Pink Ribbon Has Lost Its Appeal"
It showed up today on my Facebook page from "Breast Cancer Action", and I think it makes great points, so I wanted to include it here.:
What’s so bad about the pink ribbon?
I get this question all the time and it’s a good one, so I thought I’d share my ideas on why the pink ribbon has lost its appeal to so many.
Pink itself is not a problem. It’s only a color. And ribbons are not the problem – they’re just ribbons!
But then we have a certain ribbon that has received oodles of attention as well as a fair amount of criticism, and that of course, is the almighty pink ribbon. I wonder if there is anyone in this part of the world anyway who hasn’t seen the pink ribbon. It’s everywhere. And not just during October’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month anymore. No, now you can see it year round slapped onto to this, that and the other thing.
And that is the problem. That dang ribbon is everywhere!
The pink ribbon might have been a good symbol at one time, but now it is overused and too often misused.
You know how coaches, moms and dads and even teachers will hand out ribbons for everything? It’s an attempt to make every child feel good. But sometimes too many ribbons are given out and as a result, the ribbons lose their meaning.
The same can be said for the mother of all ribbons, that infamous pink one …
And the problems with the pink ribbon keep on stacking up.
I’ll start with ten reasons why the pink ribbon has lost its appeal for many.
1. Largely due to overuse and misuse the pink ribbon has lost its effectiveness, or at least lost sight of its original goal. The pink ribbon has morphed into a marketing tool, and a highly successful one at that. The pink ribbon is now used to sell stuff and lots of it. Unless you’ve been house bound for quite some time you probably don’t need any visuals, but just in case here’s a rather all-inclusive collage.
And the very fact that breast cancer awareness is so tightly linked to shopping is flat out sexist in the first place.
2. The pink ribbon is sometimes used in an under-handed way to make people feel good about shopping and where they are shopping at. The pink ribbons are used to increase profits as well as a corporation’s image. Talk about bang for your buck – I mean ribbon.
3. Pink ribbons are often misleading. People buy items with the pink ribbon on them because they think their money will go to a good cause. This may or may not be true. Sometimes there is a cap on how much will be donated regardless of how much money comes in. Plus, sometimes not one dollar or even one penny will go to breast cancer anything.
4. The product with the pink ribbon is sometimes questionable. Some of the products are even linked to the possibility of contributing to the risk of breast cancer. You can find a list of some controversial items here.
5. Some people are insulted by the pink ribbon because it seems to “dress up” breast cancer. It’s a cute and tidy way to package a deadly disease. A pink ribbon seems to make breast cancer feminine, pretty and perhaps even an almost “acceptable” kind of cancer. I mean how many times have you heard, well at least breast cancer is the good cancer?
6. The pink ribbons only represent the females with breast cancer. But men can get breast cancer too; sadly, this leaves them as outcasts – adding to the possible humiliation of having a woman’s disease in the first place.
7. The pink ribbon is used to represent hope, faith and courage. The underlying message for some might be construed to be, Just remain hopeful. You’ll be fine. This leaves little room for other genuine feelings like fear, anger and uncertainty.
There is nothing wrong with courage, hope or faith. But when these become tied to a pink ribbon, perhaps we are unintentionally suggesting that women should sit quietly and accept breast cancer. It might even suggest that we should sit back and accept the lack of progress in prevention and treatment, much less a cure.
Think about it. Remember all that sugar and spice nonsense about good little girls?
8. The pink ribbon overshadows all the other ribbons. It’s the “bully of ribbons.”
All the other colored ribbons for all those other diseases are forgotten about, too often shoved out of the spotlight by the mighty pink one. Don’t feel bad if you can’t name even one other colored ribbon and the disease it’s matched to. Most people can’t. Here’s a chart to help you out:
9. The pink ribbon does its part to keep sexism alive in breast cancer land. There are way too many examples to count. There are far too many lame attempts to make breast cancer awareness light-hearted or sexy by adorning pink ribbons everywhere. They suggest breast cancer awareness is more about saving breasts than the person’s life. Here are just a few examples:
10. The pink ribbon has been around for decades, but when you look at the results that matter – fewer deaths from breast cancer, this has not been the outcome from all those pink ribbons. Breast cancer continues to claim about 40,000 lives annually in just the United States.
There are undoubtedly many other problems with the pink ribbon, but this list should do for starters!
0 -
"I grab a feel" HUH Whaaaaaat the.. ? Unbelievable. WHo would just lay down and take it if someone actually came up and "grabbed a feel"?
0 -
TheDivine,
I saw it on my FB feed also. Thanks for posting this.
***What really interested me on their site was their recent response /comments to the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force...in response to its recently released draft "Recommendations on Medications for Risk Reduction of Primary Breast Cancer in Women."
I agree w/ BCAction's huge concerns regarding this draft.
I wanted to post the link...not
sure how to do it from my cell.
Violet0 -
I got the pink lid on my meds too. They better be glad that I didn't open the bag while I was standing there. Thank you Walgreen's but I'm already aware.
0 -
Let's bump this up soooo all the sistas can see.
BUMP0 -
Thanks, DivineMrsM.
Safeway tried to use the pink top on my prescription bottle tonight. I told the clerk to take it off and put on a white one- I was offended by the pink one. Felt really good. She actually said she didn't know why they had pink lids. I did a bit of education-GrannyDukes style. I'll be changing to another pharmacy
0 -
There seems to be a new catch phrase this year (at least I hadn't seen it before) that I like:
Actions speak louder that pink.
0 -
hi ladies
great post divineM and Linda -
i told my friends under NO circumstances was anything pink to come into my house. None. Sorry had to put my foot down because i heard rumblings of a pink ribbon pandora charm that they wanted to gift to me - no thanks
i am doing the run for the cure this year here in toronto, a bit reluctantly i might add (just dont know if im ready) i dont think they are on the same level as the komen runs in the US but im sure it will be a sea of pink nonetheless.
I got an email from the team captain that i would be receiving a pink t-shirt (everyone else wears white) because im a SURVIVOR - ha! funny they must know something I dont
anyway...still debating whether or not im wearing the t-shirt
0 -
Rozem, you might ask for the NORMAL t-shirt instead of pink. ANY ONE of those who are participating COULD be the next person with BC. If we are all in this together, then we should all be in it together, no singling out any "special" person for different attire. Just my 2 cents worth .... (bah, humbug.... grumble grumble .... etc)
0 -
Today I finally saw something on Facebook that really mad me respond...a few hundred replies BUT it was about who is gonna shave their head and for who...lots of pics of people shaving their heads for friends,mothers fathers you get it...anyway there were like a thousand post,mot were doing it...
I got so damn angry that it's starting before Focktober that I had to respond....
Of course I told them
This is pure bullshit....you r doin this for bc awareness....we are all aware...why don't u keep your hair and either help someone with a few meals that are too sick to even cook OR give a person who needs a few bucks to go get tx...and yes I am a bc survivor..
Focktober suks...find a damn cure/vaccine...
Probably will get kicked off Facebook.
End of rant0 -
love it Granny
my local hosp has some Pink thing planned. walk and other events to benefit this BC fund. I went to website it says fund is for awareness,education, prevention, and to assist families with BC. I was never offered any of this money!
0 -
I went back and saw that no one posted anything after me
Soooo
I posted just wondering how much of this money is goin toward research...no one posted after I did and the thread was movin very fast today.AND I told them so.and then wrote hmmmmmmmmmm.ill be watching it....
I went on their wall and almost posted and exactly how much goes toward research but I think I said enuf...for now anyway...I think it's called bald and bold???something like that.0 -
It's called be bold,be bald.org...please check it out.
I'm done for the nite..I'm pissed off.0 -
I posted too. I can't imagine shaving my head like that. maybe a guy. crazy
0 -
Nice going Granny! I don't do FB. Never have, never will. I'm gonna remember what you said though.
0 -
Well FB really started the Focktober.
And I took the ball and ran with it.
Goin to Walmart tomorrow....made sure the shit was ready and willing to speak for itself.
We r makin a statement.i just heard another komen race was cancelled???don't remember where tho.
Please help me on this issue...makin a difference one sista at a time.0 -
Some where I read a total of 7 Komen walks will be cancelled for next year. The backlash against them is working. And the planned parenthood flap with them is helping it along too.
0 -
You just made my day
Thank u.0 -
Finally, one that isn't "quite" as bad as the others. I was in Panera Bread today. They will be selling pink"ish" bagels shaped like the pink ribbon. They claim in the posters that 100 percent of the proceeds will go to Gilda's Club, so at least they will be making a real charitable contribution, as opposed to many products where there is either no contribution or only a minimal one. Gilda's Club provides services for those with cancer, named after Gilda Radner of Saturday Night Live fame, who died young from ovarian cancer. They provide support groups among other things, and a friend of mine who had late stage IBC (and is stable a number of years later) attended a group with a number of other women with bc and other cancers. All of the other women in the group ultimately did not survive. She said that they shared both laughter and tears and it was a real community for her (kind of like bco.org is now with the Stage IV boards and others).
0 -
When I received my second diagnosis of breast cancer, had the surgery and went to walgreen's for meds. I opened the bag on the way out, turned around and politely asked for the white tops. Their response was, "it is for awareness' and I am aware of it and I don't want any pink in my house. They actually gave me the white lids and I threw the pink ones in the trash as I walked out of the store. My walgreen's have filled many scripts since then and no pink tops!! Now, for family that is another thing. Even though they mean well, I have received only one pink item in 15 months(at my request--no pink) and it was from a god-daughter that had two mobiles made from a woodcrafter. One for her to remind her of me and the other one for me with my grand-niece's name engraved on it. What could I do? It is hanging in my birch tree!! I just did not want pink ribbon stuff like last time. When in Waterloo, Ontario, I raised monies and walked in Toronto's 60 k twice.(2006 and 2007) I met wonderful people on the walk!! One of the best memories from that "time" ago.
I dread the stores in October! I guess I will dread hospitals this coming month. I hate pink!!
0 -
I loathe the color pink
I despise the month of Focktober ....
I am sick of the word awareness.
I think everybody betta watch what they say to me tomorrow when I have the shirt on.
I'm in a foul mood all throu the month of Focktober
Have I told you how much I hate bc?0 -
Just googled the cities where race are cancelled (iPad won't let me cut and paste):
Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Phoenix, San Francisco, Tampa Bay, Washington DC
Hopefully, this is only the beginning of the cancellation trend0 -
Why is it that once we are diagnosed, people feel the need to pour on the pink? Got a Vera Wang breast cancer bag from a family member who always buys me pink ribbon stuff since my diagnosis. No offense but I do believe it is the ugliest bag I have ever seen. But since she means well, I just smile and say Thank you.
0 -
This week I received the the news that I have a second primary tumor. It comes exactly one year after my first diagnosis. I truly feel that I have a PHD in Awareness (piled high and deep)... look out if you try to get me to contribute or buy a pink product. I have found that shopping at our local organic food store, Earth Fare, I have been able to avoid all things pink. But the hospital hallways that I get wheeled through as I battled this second tumor are adorned with Pink Ribbon. I am anxious to get my tshirt that I ordered...customed for me...PINK STINKS..the only PINK in BREAST CANCER are the SCARS.
0
