"Pink Ribbon Culture" and Breast Cancer
http://thekojonnamdishow.org/shows/2011-07-05/pink-ribbon-culture-and-breast-cancer
Guest Host:
Rebecca Roberts
Contemporary breast cancer awareness is perky, positive, and, above all, pink. With more and more products going pink for breast cancer, it may be relevant to consider how the "pinkification" of the disease has shaped the reality of breast cancer in America today. We talk with sociologist and author Gayle Sulik about the impact of "pink ribbon culture" on breast cancer and women's health.
Guests
Gayle Sulik
Author of "Pink Ribbon Blues: How Breast Cancer Culture Undermines Women's Health" (Oxford University Press); Research Associate in the Department of Women’s Studies at the University at Albany
Comments
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I am in my late 50's, and I can remember the days when breast cancer was not talked about. When I was a child and an adolescent, it was a whispered conversation held in dressing rooms and kitchens, by aunties and sisters and mothers. The fact is that the pink ribbon campaign effectively brought the disease out into the open so that breast cancer, and in fact many diseases are now discussed on programs such as yours. That would have been unheard of in the 50s and 60s. And the "save the ta-tas" slant is a humorous take on the marketing that has helped to pull in younger women and even men. This is an extention of the old "our bodies ourselves" view on women's health that is fearless and empowering.
I start Chemo Thursday thank goodness. Self-exam saved my life. During a mammogram I pointed out an issue I noticed to the technician and she took an extra picture of the area. The regular mammogram showed nothing but because of that one picture taken due to self exam I had a mastectomy a 3.5 cm tumor which has spread to a lymph node. Waiting for another year to show on a mammogram could have completely changed my outcome. Self Exam is important
In my opinion, Gayle Sulik has a good grasp of today’s breast cancer environment. I have been involved in breast cancer advocacy for over 20 years. The movement is fragmented with hundreds of breast cancer organizations in the US, resources are wasted and many breast cancer myths persist. No wonder the public is confused. To top it off, I believe the intensive “pinking” of breast cancer has obscured the real work that needs to be done. The National Breast Cancer Coalition (NBCC), the nation’s most effective breast cancer advocacy organization, trains advocates to focus on public policy, quality health care for all, evidence-based medicine, and funding the right research. NBCC has launched “Breast Cancer Deadline 2020,” a bold, challenging, unprecedented initiative to end breast cancer by January 1, 2020 by focusing on breast cancer prevention and metastasis. This hard work, not running races or buying pink ribbon-bedecked products, will get us to our goal. Please visit http://www.BreastCancerDeadline2020.org and read NBCC’s 2011 Progress Report — Ending Breast Cancer: A Baseline Status Report. Then help us change the conversation from fighting breast cancer to ending breast cancer for all.
When drug companies who market cancer "cures" are also chemical companies which make carcinogenic products put their logos on cancer walk T-shirts, it's doubly cruel. They are in a Win-Win game: Product one drives the sales of product two. They make money either way. and of course, they don't want to cure cancer, they won't make money that way.
Thanks, Gayle, for your terrific commentary on the pinkification of breast cancer. Listeners can check out Breast Cancer Action's Think Before You Pink campaign here: thinkbeforeyoupink.org
1st - The thought of someone posting or Tweeting ‘Save the (immature name for breasts)’ and then laughing while sitting alone in front of their computer, I find slightly disturbing. I would think that anyone that is serious about supporting those with breast cancer, their family, friends and co-workers would also be somewhat disturbed by that. Any woman that has endured molestation or rape and is now fighting breast cancer… well I think coming across that kind of ‘support’ would be grossly counter-productive. Don’t you?
2nd - The 'pinkification' of BC is both good and bad, it HAS brought breast cancer to the forefront of charitable organizations; but in any case, no one should define themselves by their disease! People are not 'Breast Cancer Survivors', they are who they are... who happened to have or have beaten breast cancer.
3rd - There is a great deal of financial pressure to NOT find a cancer cure, (especially breast cancer due to it's gross commercialization). Cancer is a multi-billion dollar business. Pharmaceuticals, research, administration of funds, and even companies and/or people that give a miniscule amount to breast cancer in order to sell and profit!
What is good breast cancer support and help? Home grown support groups that are available to anyone with cancer with no regard to financial barriers, such as: (not my site) http://HealingGarden.com ... I am building a site that I hope to widen the benefits a Healing Garden can bring virtually: (this is my site) http://IHaveThisLittleGarden.com -This site has no ads or links to merchandise or even a donate button. It is a purely philanthropic project. (I do it on the side, so it is a slow grower).
I could write a book, but will stop here.
~Mark
PS- Great show! (Not just this one, but most days!)