Read Up on Breast Cancer Awareness Month
From the Estee Lauder to Hershey’s, it seems like everyone has jumped on the “Think Pink” October train. Pink ribbons are everywhere you look, and breast cancer awareness is at the forefront all month long.
Breast Self Examination is Essential
What exactly is breast cancer awareness month?
Breast Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM), otherwise known as “Pink-Tober”, is an annual campaign to raise awareness for breast cancer throughout the month of October. While the sentiment behind the campaign feels warm and thoughtful, many of the tactics designed to "support" breast cancer survivors end up leaving out the very people they are trying to help.
The goal of many companies during breast cancer awareness month should be "educate, prevent, save a life”. Unfortunately, too often it's really just about “sell, sell, sell."
Some history: The first breast cancer awareness symbol was a peach colored ribbon created in the 90's by breast cancer survivor Charlotte Haley. Haley started a small grassroots campaign utilizing homemade peach colored ribbons. The purpose was to encourage legislators to allot more money to cancer prevention.
Place Pic: Left: Charlotte Haley holding a handful of peach ribbons, each made by hand. Right: One of Haley's ribbons attached to its original message card.
The small grass roots movement was praised by several big corporations including Estee Lauder and also by Self Magazine. Both entities asked Haley for permission to use her ribbon. Haley, initially said no. She wanted to retain the grassroots aspects of the campaign. The corporations decided to move ahead without Haley’s blessing. This did not deter the corporations. They simply changed the color of the ribbon from peach to pink, And, that is how the breast cancer awareness pink ribbon we currently know was started.
What is Pinkwashing?
Today, many corporations take advantage of breast cancer awareness month through "pinkwashing," or using the pink ribbon and the color, pink, as a just another marketing technique in order to sell more products. So how can you, the audience, be smart when it comes to Pink-Tober madness?
For one thing, find out where the money goes - really. It’s best to support research efforts that are getting results. The problem is that just raising awareness is not as effective as it was in Haley’s time. We already know so many things about breast cancer.
There are a few things you should be aware of before becoming a financial donor to a Pink-Tober campaign:
1. Is there a donation cap?
Sometimes, there may be a cap to the amount of money donated. For example, a company may donate 10% of proceeds from every purchase of a product to breast cancer research, but cap the donations at 100 sales. That means the same amount of money will be donated whether 100 or 1000 products are purchased. That means the money you contribute might not be donated at all.
2. Look for Specifics
In some cases, marketers simply claim a portion of profits go to breast cancer/breast cancer awareness. This can be questionable if 1) the percentage of the proceeds is not specified, and/or 2) the organization is not specified. Always look for specifics before becoming a patron.
3. Research Organizations
Before donating or purchasing a product where proceeds go to breast cancer research, be sure to research the organization first. Even if 100% of the proceeds from your purchase go to breast cancer research, the organization receiving the donations may only use a small portion of donations on cancer research and prevention.
Survivors Reclaiming the Pink Ribbon
Given the commercialization of the pink ribbon and the overall sexualization of breast cancer, many cancers survivors have expressed that the pink ribbon should be eliminated entirely. However, other survivors have expressed that the ribbon is not the enemy. The push for sales and much of the marketing can be the enemy.
The pink ribbon should be a reminder that it is important to talk about the real issues breast cancer fighters and survivors face. It should be obvious that it should not be just a way for companies to make more money. The pink ribbon was designed to start a conversation.
The bottom line is that awareness is clearly not enough. People with breast cancer should be honored in a respectful and meaningful way. And, most importantly, we need to make efforts to cure breast cancer, not just bring awareness to an already well known disease.