When we think about breast cancer awareness, the first thing we think of is pink ribbons. Unlike any other form of cancer, the first thing that comes to mind is a color, not the suffering and tragedy that cancer often causes. The film “Pink Ribbons Inc.” explains how this pink, feminization of a disease in mainstream breast cancer research detracts from the main issues. The women in stage four breast cancer support group talked about how belittling campaigning around the issue is, that their life struggle is more than a pink ribbon (Pool 2017). One thing I found astonishing about breast cancer culture is how much money is constantly raised for a cause with no more answers than we had decades before. I believe this culture completely detracts from those who are benefitting from cancer patients. I can’t help but think that after so many years of researching cancer, so much money, and time into the disease, that we have not found any more answers. That leads me to believe there are reasons, mainly that someone is making money off of this issue. As the film showed, hundreds of companies profess to donate and support research when only contributing a sliver of their profits (Pool 2017).
In comparison to Ley’s piece, mainstream breast cancer research refuses to demand that the government or corporations change but state that strong women can win. By maintaining this culture, we allow complacency for the situations that enable breast cancer to continue taking lives (Ley 2009). The term survivor has also been used to describe women who have been able to overcome cancer. Many disagree with this term, making light of the issue that has taken many lives and could come back and take the lives of “survivors” (Ley, 2009). This discussion of the term survivor also goes back to the stage four group who felt that they are always seen as someone on the edge of death, someone who could not “fight hard enough” due to the messaging we use that cancer is a battle one can win (Pool 2017).
Corporate interests dominate mainstream breast cancer awareness. From corporate sponsors at the races (Pool 2017), to advertisements of pink teddy bears (Pool 2017), to Whirlwind vacuum ads (Ley 2009) corporations are making money hand over fist for consumers to feel like they are supporting a corporation that is helping their loved ones or a cause they care about but when you get down to than numbers, typically these corporations are just exploiting the pink ribbon (Pool 2017). The film talks about the American Express example, that during a certain promotional time, every purchase would donate to breast cancer research. Little did many know this was only one penny per purchase (Pool 2017). Corporations have helped create this culture of breast cancer awareness to target consumers and to distract from the real causes of breast cancer, such as environmental pollution. This corporate take over of breast cancer awareness has halted much-needed research on the causes and cures of cancer in order to keep selling products ultimately leaving women without protection or cures.
Ley, B. (2009). Chapter 5: The Cultural Politics of Sisterhood. In From Pink to Green.
Pool, L. (2017) Pink Ribbons, Inc. Retrieved from https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5vqdad.
It’s so true that when you think about breast cancer, the first thing that comes to mind are the pink ribbons. I think the most interesting part about this campaign is that although it did give the cancer visibility and was a good way to educate women on the warning signs, it also changes the way these women are viewed. Because we live in a patriarchal society, and breast cancer is almost entirely women, they associate the cancer with pink things that feminize the cancer. Very similar to how society views women, the cancer is viewed as a passive and non-aggressive cancer that can be easily overcome.
I agree! It is so frustrating that they have been raising money for decades and it does not seem like they have come to a full-rounded resolution for how to prevent the cancer from occurring. We have also not found how it is caused and if gender norms or gender discrimination has something to do with it. Instead, the fundraising efforts go towards the corporations profiting from the use of the marketing materials that are used to ‘raise money for research’. As you mentioned, it is mostly used to boost their profits and is not actually benefiting the research or funding for breast cancers research or victims. The corporations making profits from the cancer makes me concerned that it is part of why they have not been able to find an environmental or physical link. That or it has not been found because corporations are more than likely part of the cause.