Jr. High Boys and the I Love Boobies Campaign
My twelve year old son has recently become an advocate for breast cancer awareness. Who knew he was so compassionate about fighting cancer? He even wore a pink armband in his last football game. And though I am excited that I can actually find him on the football field in a dog pile, his obsession with NFL.com/pink raises some big red flags for this mama. Now call me naive….but I wonder if his sudden interest has any connection to do with the “I Love Boobies”?
In a brilliant marketing scheme, capitalizing on our hyper-sexualized culture, the Keep A Breast Foundation folks have certainly generated publicity, but at what cost? Is an adolescent boy with raging hormones their intended audience? Because, quite frankly, his parents hold the checkbook and it’s only irritating me, not helping their cause. There are plenty of non-profits legitimately raising funds for breast cancer research that I am more apt to support versus the ones exploiting boobs for cash.
Why this campaign smells like a rat:
1 - It’s Offensive
First of all, our national obsession with artificially enhanced breasts has absolutely nothing to do with a cancer victim fighting to save her life. While Heidi Montag may be the epitome of the Girls Gone Wild mentality, having boobs the size of a beach ball doesn’t evoke a lot of sympathy to a woman facing death and a double mastectomy. If anything, it trivializes the devastation to both her breasts and the disease itself. If I saw an infant wearing an I Love Boobies t-shirt, I might be more prone to levity, but on a pimply teen, it’s just plain offensive. This campaign objectifies a woman as a sexual object instead of a human being battling a serious illness.
Tracy Clark-Flory put it this way. "When death is truly knocking at your door — and I'm not talking about early, uncertain cases — most aren't thinking about how much they love their breasts, they're thinking about how much they love not being dead. They're thinking: Chop those things off, now."
2 - What’s the real message?
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