As with many other assignments in this class, this week’s focus truly opened my mind to a subject that I had never previously questioned or took the time to fully understand. In fact, I had no idea that there was even a possibility of something so seemingly positive could unintentionally have negative effects on the cause. Barbara Ley analyzes the breast cancer awareness movement and the answers that we never knew we were looking for in her article From Pink to Green: Disease prevention and the environmental breast cancer movement. 

My previous knowledge of the breast cancer awareness movement was primarily based on the information that I had gathered from the media. Never in a class lecture or any other educational source did I come across any form of constructive learning on the subject. Of course, I have learned that the media is known for skewing information and reporting it for their own benefit, but I was disappointed to find that this is even the case in health or charity corporations. I was happy to find that while Ley exposes many malpractices of the community, she also affirmed the positive ones. She proved that mainstream breast cancer culture is not entirely bad, and that some of my previous knowledge was legitimate. For example, The Susan G. Komen Foundation’s role in the cause seems to still shed positive light on the subject and work for the wellbeing of those affected by making women aware of the resources that they have available for use as well as funding promising biomedical and health research. Although Ley admits that the foundation “epitomizes the mainstream breast cancer culture” (Ley 2009), she explains that they have made many efforts in the last 30 years to address the issues of the environmental breast cancer problem. 

As I mentioned before, Ley’s article informed me of the practices that are commonly performed by these organizations that do not directly support the cause. It seems that the basis of every argument is that this movement pushes the importance of searching for signs and various treatment options for breast cancer rather than informing the public on environmental tactics for prevention. When I reflected on my knowledge of the cause, I immediately thought of that little pink ribbon that seems to trend around campus and the world annually. The use of ribbons to demonstrate one’s dedication to a cause was nothing new to American culture when Susan G. Komen unveiled their version, but many critics argue that it symbolizes all that is wrong with breast cancer awareness culture. Perhaps one of the most interesting connections that Ley mentioned was the comparison of these pins to “greenwashing”, as noted by environmental breast cancer activists. They coined the term “pinkwashing” to reference the ways in which corporations once branded themselves as environmentally friendly in an effort to reach a broader audience with this dedication rather than actually do good for the globe (Ley 2009). Corporate pinkwashing does the same as is perhaps just as relevant in today’s time, with corporations throwing that little pink ribbon on any of their products or advertisements in order to make greater sales. They claim to donate a portion of their earnings to the cause, but research has proven that the donations are nowhere near the gains in sales that the company will selfishly gain as a result. 

While it is incredibly disappointing for me to learn the secrets of the breast cancer awareness movement, I am glad that my eyes have been opened. I now understand the good that certain corporations do partake in, and hold the knowledge to determine whether or not it outweighs the malpractices that are also hidden within. I don’t think I would be able to ever say that any amount of effort towards solving a worldly problem is entirely bad, and so I do give these companies credit for the work they have done. My only hope is that they can take at least a small step back from their corporate agendas and focus more on the men and women that are affected and expecting that full efforts are being made to help. Perhaps if the public was more aware of the environmental breast cancer movement, they would be able to take their full-faith out of these organizations for finding a cure, and focus on their own well-being to avoid the disease in the first place.  

Ley, B. L. (2009). From pink to green: Disease prevention and the environmental breast cancer movement. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.