5 Problems With Pinktober—and What We Can Do About It

If the massive Pink Ribbon flags hanging from the street lamps up and down Main Street didn’t clue you in: October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

I'll be honest. Towards the end of September, I began to dread the arrival of “Pinktober.” And this is why—I find everything about it incredibly polarizing. There are your tutu-clad marathon fanatics who welcome the onslaught of everything pink with eager enthusiasm. And then there’s the vexed anti-pinkers who find the current theme of Breast Cancer Awareness Month to be both alienating and misdirected.

So where do I stand in this Sea Of Pink? Where do I fit into this equation as a young breast cancer patient still undergoing treatment? And what more can I possibly offer to the dialogue already being had on other (much more lucid and far-reaching) cancer-related blogs?

First, I’d rather not piss and moan about things. Negativity like kills my vibes. But still. I think this frenzied pink rigmarole is worth addressing.

Last month, I wrote about Mesothelioma Awareness Day and the very real and very present danger of asbestos. Spreading awareness about Meso made sense to me. Because people are not aware.

But breast cancer? By all means, correct me if I’m wrong, but it seems that most people are already aware of breast cancer’s existence and general lousiness. At least, the people who seem to be the target of this rah-rah-go-pink! cacophony are already aware. 

And yet, every October the Pink Ribbon Campaign continues to clamor its message of “awareness” from the rooftops of the world. Also, on yogurt lids and bubblegum machines.

Why do I (and plenty of other cancer advocates) have a problem with this? Pull up a chair.

1. The Sexualization of Breast Cancer Awareness Month

One of the biggest beefs I have with Breast Cancer Awareness Month is its use of overtly sexualized slogans that are slapped onto every thinkable surface: bumper stickers, flyers, posters, social media posts. The Keep A Breast Foundation, for instance, hawks merch with the tagline "I Love Boobies." Seriously. 

There’s also: “Save the Ta Tas,” “Save the Hooters” “Save Second Base,” “Cop a Feel” “I Stare Because I Care”  etc. etc. etc. Some ads feature young, bare-chested models in provocative poses with the call to action “Save a Life, Grope Your Wife.” 

I get it—adopting a playful, lighthearted tone isn't a bad marketing strategy. When you're selling, oh I dunno, designer bakeware or slippers. But distributing lewd t-shirts to spread "awareness" about a disease that KILLS people and destroys lives? Barf.

Sheesh—lighten up, Liz. They're just words. Funny words! At least they’re raising awareness and some righteous dollar bills.

Eep. I mean: there's gotta be a better way to fund cancer research than reducing women to a pair of knockers.

First, these campaigns suggest that the real problem with breast cancer is the current rate of breast casualties. Not, um, all the deaths it causes. Which: guys?!  We need to focus on saving lives. Not just boobies. A fact that my surgeons made quite clear from the beginning—they were, above all else, in the business of removing cancer. They wanted to save my life, not just my breasts (though, they'd swing for both.)

Also, as a 31-year-old woman who had to relinquish both of her breasts to survive, I find these crude slogans to be a real slap in the face. A cruel reminder that my body is more than a little bit wonky. That is a hard enough concept to confront, without all the help from tweets about going braless to support breast cancer research. The last thing I want to see flooding my social network feeds are cutesy selfies featuring healthy, perky, non-cancerous breasts. Not helping.

2. The Commodification of Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Cause-related marketing can be a swell PR move for companies looking to schmooze the public while generating revenue. In theory, it sounds like a slam-dunk: Company X gives your cause visibility, Company X makes money, everybody’s happy. It’s a win-win.

But what if Company X is manufacturing products with known carcinogens? (KFC’s “Buckets for the Cure” campaign comes to mind.)  And how much of their profits will actually go to useful breast cancer charities? (as in charities that fund research and/or use funds to directly help people with breast cancer pay for things like transportation or treatment or groceries.) Will Company X cap donations at a certain dollar amount without alerting consumers to this fact and pocketing all subsequent profits once this limit has been met? 

This is where things get sleazy.

I won’t belabor the issue, but just be cognizant of the bookoo bucks corporations are raking in all in the name of “raising awareness.”

Think Before You Pink is a useful project developed by the group Breast Cancer Action. They’ve laid out  4 questions you can ask yourself before making a pink-related purchase. I’ve found the information on their sites enlightening, so maybe take a gander. 

3. What About the Menz?

Before one of my last chemo infusions, a nurse distractedly took my vitals, fumbling with my mediport. The lines on her forehead suggested worry, and she looked visibly ill when her phone rang in her pocket.

“It’s about my son,” she said. “He just had a biopsy this week. They highly suspect he has breast cancer. He’s 24.”

That’s right. A 24-year-old MALE with breast cancer. 

News flash—men get breast cancer, too. So why all the pink?? I can’t know exactly what it would feel like, emotionally, to be diagnosed with breast cancer as a man. But I’m inclined to think all this pinkwashing adds insult to injury. Breast cancer is presented as a woman’s disease (it isn’t) so all this pink shite everywhere has to be mortifying for some men with breast cancer. It's gotta be.

There’s also the terribly misguided mantra that rallies breast cancer patients to “Fight Like a Girl!” Oh. No. Stuff like that truly embarrasses me. Stuff like that needs to STOP.

Breast cancer isn’t a cutesy girls’ slumber party where we play Dream Phone and paint each other's toenails pink. 

It’s a crap disease that takes lives—men and women both.

4. What About the Metastatic Peeps?

Breast Cancer Awareness tends to put the spotlight on cheerful survivor stories, largely failing to discuss metastatic breast cancer (breast cancer that has spread to other parts of the body).

While everyone is busy painting the town pink for the whole month of October, metastatic breast cancer patients are officially recognized on ONE measly day. October 13th. A day that is (horrifyingly) shared with No Bra Day (grossssss). This is not enough. 

These “metsers” often feel marginalized during Pinktober because their stories don’t fit alongside the stereotypical rosey fairytales of “conquering cancer.” Breast Cancer Awareness Month also posits the false idea that this disease is completely preventable and curable, which only further stigmatizes those with stage IV breast cancer. Like it’s their own fault for not catching things sooner. 

And all of that money being raised for breast cancer research during the month of October? A paltry 2-5% of it will be allocated for the study of metastatic disease. Again, this is not enough.

5. Fueling Misconceptions and Perpetuating Stigmas

My final contention with Pinktober is the number of misconceptions about breast cancer it continues to feed the public. The crux of the Breast Cancer Awareness movement lies in its push for “prevention” and “early detection.” Which is great. Who doesn’t want to prevent cancer? 

However, their battle cry that “early detection saves lives!” is misleading at best. Pink Ribbon madness has perpetuated the narrative that if you identify breast cancer early enough, you are guaranteed survival. But studies show that this is not the case. Some tumors are going to return, and many will be fatal regardless of how early they were detected. 

The Pink Ribbon Movement generally fails to show the reality of breast cancer. By denying a voice to the metastatic population, and drowning our sensibilities with sunshiney platitudes, most awareness campaigns are missing the mark completely.

They also tend to promote the phony idea that optimism and positivity are all you need to “beat” cancer. Smiling will not cure my cancer. Do I really need to keep spelling that out? 

I hate to admit it, but prior to my own diagnosis, I was equally swept up in the saccharine, cotton candy image of breast cancer. I, too, considered it an easily treated, curable disease.

I remember sitting next to my husband at an October NFL game a few years ago, the field swathed in pink. 

“What is their deal? How much attention do they need for crying out loud?! At least they have a treatable cancer.”

These snarky asides were likely the products of two major forces clouding my perception: (1) The largely dressed-up, pink-ified version of breast cancer I had been spoon-fed for years, and (2) the fact that my husband had been duking it out with a relentless and incurable cancer for years. Where were HIS blue mesothelioma cheerleaders?? The whole thing put a bad taste in my mouth. 

That is a problem. When your cry for awareness ends up distracting people from the reality of what you’re trying to achieve—which, let’s remind ourselves, is fewer deaths—then yeah, I’d say we’ve got a problem on our hands.

The numbers don’t lie—we have very little to show for the decades of Pink Ribbon madness. Breast cancer will continue to claim the lives of over 40,000 people this year. What started as a noble (and necessary!) idea has morphed into a strange, commodified, mutant strain of nonsense.

What Can I Do About It?

So, Breast Cancer Awareness Month isn't perfect. So what? What does that have to do with me? What can I do about it?

For one thing, you can shop mindfully. Remember: Think Before You Pink! Or better yet, donate directly to a reputable breast cancer charity that is meaningful to you. (Here's a couple of options from Popular Science.)

You can also use social media to steer the conversation in a more positive direction. Please don’t promote sexually-charged posts that masquerade as advocating for breast cancer awareness. Try to consider how these phrases and images can actually do more harm than good. If you want to support a friend who is fighting breast cancer, educate yourself and share useful, factual information about the disease.

I'll admit, I was apprehensive about addressing some of the flaws I see with Pinktober because I don’t want to alienate people who actually find support in the Pink Ribbon’s message. I don’t want to sound bitter or cynical or angry. I’m a total Hufflepuff if you must know. You won't find me running through the aisles of Walmart in a frothy rage, knocking over displays of pink-bejeweled teddy bears. I’m massively grateful for what are mostly people's good intentions. Pink ribbons and all.

To witness a positive shift in the currently watered-down goals of Pinktober, I think we need to refocus the message. To showcase the reality of breast cancer, instead of trivializing it. To provide science-backed info on prevention and risk.

All of which I will continue to do. And I’ll do it with my non-pink mastectomy bra on, thankyouverymuch.

How do YOU feel about "Pinktober"?

Are you a fan of the Pink Ribbon Campaign? Do you find comfort and support in its positivity?

Or are you weary of the pinkwashing and everything it entails?