OUTRAGE!

In 2012 METAvivor launched it’s “Elephant in the Pink Room” campaign to highlight that despite pervasive awareness of breast cancer thanks to both legitimate awareness campaigns and “Pinktober” marketing, what we still try to ignore is the reality of getting, living with and dying from metastatic breast cancer.

This morning I discovered that the campaign was essentially stolen by Kohl’s Department Stores to “fundraise” for Susan G. Komen and I am truly outraged! (Find the Kohl’s Cares campaign here.) First and foremost, it is disgusting that Kohl’s would impinge on a small non-profit organization’s pre-existing campaign in such a blatant and unethical manner, and do so to sell more products (like their “pink elephant” necklace) and direct “charitable” dollars to another, behemoth of an organization.

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When Favorite Brands Go to the Dark Side

The issue first came up a couple of years ago, actually, but I really didn’t have time to deal with it then. It was just weeks before my son’s bar mitzvah and I was in dire need of a pair of black jeans. I headed to the store, tried on half a dozen pair hoping to find one that would not require tailoring (yeah, right) and choose one. Phew!

As I sat in the dressing room waiting for the tailor to pin the jeans I saw it. It had actually been tucked in a back pocket so I missed it at first. The tag. NYDJ had jumped onto the pink bandwagon and become a Komen supporter. Ouch.

Don’t tell anyone, but I bought the jeans.

Fast forward. I’ve been inundated with work – professional and volunteer – and trying desperately to catch up lately. (It’s one of a few reasons I haven’t been blogging much, so thanks for your understanding). Well, as luck would have it, tonight I finished a major project and I wanted to kicked back!

Hello, RealSimple. Just me, the couch and the glossy pages ripe and ready to get me ready for fall. Yahoo!

Flipping through the fall fashion pages, page 81 to be exact, BAM! Wacol has a full page, pink ad. That’s fine, no worries. Until I read the small print: Wacoal is a proud sponsor of Susan G. Komen. My condolences, Wacoal, but Susan is dead, and I will venture to guess YOU are sponsoring Susan G. Komen for the Cure, and THEY are not one of my favorite charities.

For the Cure?

Walk for the Cure.

Shop for the Cure

Run for the Cure

Drink for the Cure

Bowl for the Cure

Bake for the Cure

Sell for the Cure

Cook for the Cure

Crop for the Cure

In the interest of full disclosure, I have walked and I have donated, even as I have questioned. I still do. I do so because there is a community formed as we walk. I do so because I want to support friends in their effort to find a path to making a difference.  I do so because some truly good work is done in the process. And yet I hesitate to jump on the “for a Cure” bandwagon, and I believe a healthy dose of skepticism is in order.

Oh So Sexy…

From a generation or two ago, when the word “breast” was only whispered to today’s “Save the Tatas” t-shirts and “I ♥ Boobies” bracelets, there has been a significant shift in how American society sees and responds to breast cancer. Overwhelmingly I think the advances are great, and I would be the last person to advocate for a return to the shame and secrecy with which this disease was once treated. At the same time, I wonder if the pendulum hasn’t swung in the opposite direction; how it is that breast cancer and sex appeal have become linked? Consistent with my concern about breast cancer as a marketing tool, I wonder when breast cancer became sexy.

The Pinking of America

I’ve surprised many a friend with my anti-Breast Cancer Month sentiments. I simply recoil against what I think of as The Pinking of America. First it was the grocery stores with shelves lined with pink cans of Campbell’s soup and displays of pink M&Ms. Next clothing stores awash in pink bras and rhinestone ribbons, followed by pink-ribbon nail polish at the beauty supply outlets. This year saw pink on the NFL football fields of America.