We don’t have to make fun of one issue to bring attention to another!
Breast Cancer is a massively important issue for women. If you haven’t had a boob check, or haven’t learned how to examine your own breasts then it is sooooo important that you do so. Go on… it doesn’t take long! You can do it!
Now, with that good public service announcement out of the way, I want to show you this. It was sent to me this morning by my dear friend Claire Vickery from the Butterfly Foundation who was absolutely shocked by what she had received in her email inbox. Claire has done some of the most incredible work in the area of body image and eating disorders in Australia. She is a very inspirational woman.
Anyway, when I received this from Claire I had to look at it a few times before I could see what on earth was going on. And then I just had one of those “OMG!” moments. Here is what I saw:
I NEED YOUR HELP!
I’m trying to find out who sells this mirror!
Mail this to 13 other women. Now, don’t break the chain! OK gals, now that you have had your laugh, remember… Breast Cancer Awareness… Go have those boobs checked out and stay healthy! Pass the message on to your mothers, sisters, daughters, aunts, cousins, friends, and even your enemies. Because the WORST enemy is Breast Cancer.
Now I don’t know where this viral email came from, but can I say, it is just the most freaking ridiculous promotion for getting your breasts checked that I have ever seen. Because let me tell you a few things about fat chicks and breast exams. Statistics show that the vast majority of women who are ‘obese’ do not go for preventative health checks – including breast exams and pap smears – because they are either: a) embarrassed about their bodies; or b) have had their bodies made fun of by doctors. So I’m wondering how an ad like this does anything to make any women – fat or thin – feel okay about going to the doctor to have preventative health checks WHICH COULD SAVE THEIR LIVES!
Breast health is a very important and serious issue. So is body image. Why do we have to make fun of one thing to try and encourage people to do another, or to take notice of the health message we are trying to give?
So next time you see one of these ads, don’t pass them along to your mates. Break the chain and press the delete button.
ADDITIONAL NOTE: SOME MORE CAMPAIGNS
Here are a few more recent ads for Breast Awareness. Obviously there is still a play here on body image obsession. I’ve heard some really mixed reactions to these. What do you think?
Themocracy
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Julie Parker, Arwyn, Kylie Mason, Kerry Beake, Elizabeth@Spilt Milk and others. Elizabeth@Spilt Milk said: RT @TheDiscourse: New post at Discourse. We don't have to make fun of one issue to promote another. Breast Cancer and Body Image. http://tiny.cc/jnsyt [...]
I don’t understand that viral email at all… the woman in the picture isn’t even checking her breasts. “lol! This fatty wants to be thin! OK, srsly now, have your boobs checked.” I’m so confused.
No kidding! Isnt it the weirdest thing you have ever seen? All it does for me is reinforces that you have to feel shit about yourself if you are fat. BIG MASSIVE FAIL!
I don’t even think the humour is supposed to be around the idea, “This fatty wants to be thin”. I perceive the message to be, “Lol. This fatty has the gall to think she looks attractive/normal when she looks in the mirror!”
It certainly says bugger all about breat cancer.
Of course, that old chestnut! The delusional fatty! Har har har.
Is there no escaping the torment? Everywhere you look it’s there. I will delete these emails and in fact when I get such emails just delete.
It annoys me no end when in an attempt to promote their own cause (whatever that may be), advocacy groups or charities slag off at other causes or people – like somehow their issue is superior.
This is just stupid and like Frances – I don’t get it.
You already know I take issue with these body paint ads! I don’t understand why women are reduced to obsessing over superficial bullshit like bad hair and pimples. Why is weight even thrown in with these two? Why sexualize the ads? I see no point in having NSFW ads “for a good cause,” it just doesn’t make sense to me. There are so many layers to why I really dislike these… Being obessed with potential illness is no way to live your life, yet these ads advise you do so while totally trivializing the harshness of Breast Cancer! I also find it troubling that the models are size 0 and the fat ass obession, in particular, is drawn on a woman so thin, her ribs are showing. I mean, come on! If these were for testicular cancer, or prostate cancer, would anyone even consider using body parts?!
Above all else, I think it’s especially insensitive to women who have battled breast cancer and potentially had no other option than mastectomy. Breast cancer is about more than boobs covered in paint. And that email?! WTF!!
Great Comment JaimieLee! You really made me rethink these after chatting to you on Twitter today! <3!!
I hate all of those. I also as a matter of course delete anything that tells me that I MUST pass it on. I’m perverse like that.
On the upside, although I didn’t find that exact mirror, this one is fairly close.
There are a couple that are pretty close and several that are gorgeous in this Google search. I hope that you find something that you love as mush or even more.
Nice mirror
ACK! “mush” = “much”
What JamieLee said.
What’s more, those ads creeped me out so much that it took me a second look to even figure out what was going on in them. I didn’t know at first why they bothered me so, but seeing that girl’s ribs poking out of her fear of a fat ass is such a shorthand for anorexia (not that I’m assuming anything about the model’s physical or mental health, it’s purely how her ribs and the fat ass drawn on her are juxtaposed) that it nearly made me physically ill.
I think my main problem with the body paint ads is that the message is: You know all that shame, fear, and disgust you already feel toward your body, you should also feel it about the possibility of having breast cancer. You should think about it when you look in the mirror every day. Blah. Blah. That just doesn’t seem like a very good cancer prevention message to me. It feels like shame and fear, and I don’t think that is what encourages women to do self-exams or talk to their doctor about potential problems. I think empowerment would, and these ads are not encouraging or empowering at all.
I agree with a lot you’re saying but would like to address the whole “her ribs are showing, clearly she has issues” trend in the comments.
I am 20kg over my “normal” weight. You can still see my ribs when I stretch.
I would like to loose a bit of weight, mainly because I’m having problems running after my now 3 year old girl (who btw. was breastfed until a few months ago, just to clear that one up while I’m at it).
I played with Barbie dolls when I was little, I was constantly told I’m too thin/too chubby, that I ate too little/too much, depending on the day and my parents moods. And still, I don’t have a problem with my body as long as my weight doesn’t interfere with my activity level and my comfort and my ability to move around as much as I want to.
Will I go on a crash diet and loose 20kg in a month by sheer willpower? No! I like eating, I like food, I’ve been this heavy ever since I gave birth three years ago and I’m hoping my weight will finally shift now that I’ll do daily kindergarten runs again.
Anyway, what I’m trying to say is this:
-I think you’re putting a lot of thought into things the designers didn’t intend/think of.
-A woman can have her ribs showing even though she’s not underweight and/or anorexic.
-I think body painting is a pretty cool thing and I think those two last pictures are kind of cute in a surreal, not quite human way. But personally I wouldn’t have thought “breast cancer” when looking at them. So, as an ad campaign for/against breast cancer I probably would prefer something else, but as art to hang on my walls it would be just fine.
Sure it would be nice to not have a sex campaign every time womens issues are being talked about, but maybe overdramatizing isn’t really helping either?
Nicole, I think the point is that the messages about women’s bodies being something that *always* need work, is so widely accepted that the hidden messages are often MORE powerful than the ones that are apparently being displayer.
I think that with a campaign like breast health, we ought to be thinking about the hidden messages – and if we’re not thinking about them first up, discussions like this help to get clear about what we’re NOT saying, so that next time we can get closer to the intent of the message.
I think body painting is a cool thing too, and I’m trying to think when I saw painting on bodies that were not “perfect”. I can’t think of any such, mind you, I’ve not looked either!
any ad which increase awareness of breast cancer and self examination is good…the more reaction it causes…even negative one…the more effective it is
I am that delusional fatty! oh dear – I have no idea what it says about Breast Cancer, but all I know is, when I look in the mirror – I am far from perfect, but do not feel the reflection equates to my weight – or how I look in photos. I feel my dirty little secret has been spread virally now