I find "Save the Ta-tas" just a little bit tacky

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

In the U.S. “ta-ta’s” (“tatas”, “tata’s”) is slang for “breasts”. It isn’t terribly offensive or insulting, but it is often considered tacky, tawdry, and crude, similar to “tits”.

There’s an organization (corporation?) called “Save the Ta-tas” which claims to raise money for breast cancer research by selling all manner of merchandise emblazoned with their logo (verbatim).

I support efforts to raise awareness and raise money for breast cancer research and/or treatment, but this group, and their name, and their slogan, rub me the wrong way. To wit…

Breast cancer (any cancer, for that matter) is a nasty proposition. Big bad terrible scary nasty. When diagnosed with breast cancer women (yes, men can get it too (nod to Peter Criss), but it overwhelmingly strikes women) are usually faced with two outcomes: bad and worse. Bad is chemotherapy, possibly a lumpectomy or mastectomy, and a lingering fear it will recur. Worse is death. Any of these outcomes is nasty, often painful, and just all-around bad for the woman involved, and tangentially her family, loved ones, etc.

If you’ll notice, I said the woman involved. Not her tits. Breast cancer research focuses on saving the lives of people, entire people, not just certain bits and pieces of people. Breast cancer kills people, not just bits and pieces of them. Consider the following:

“Dude, why the long face?”
“Dude, my mom just got diagnosed with breast cancer.”
“DUUUUUUDE!! That totally sucks!! Sorry to hear about your mom’s tits. Hope she doesn’t lose ‘em, cause she’s got great tits.”

“Sally, what’s wrong?”
“Oh Jane, I just got diagnosed with breast cancer.”
“Oh no! Your girls are sick? I hope the doctors can save them, because you looked so cute in that new top!”

“awwww honey, what’s up?”
“<sniff> … today I … <sniff> … went to the doctor and … <cringe> … I have breast cancer!”
“Oh honey! That’s awful! I love your tits! Did the doctor say if you’ll be able to keep them? Because, you know… they’re your tits!”

Seriously, “save the ta-tas” sounds like “save the tits” to me. As a heterosexual male I am pro-tits, but when the topic is breast cancer I’m thinking about the welfare of the entire woman. Not just her ta-tas.

Yeah, they raise money for research and that’s a good thing, but it kinda irks me to see “Save the tits!”, I mean “Save the ta-tas!” on a bumper sticker. I’ll make a donation to the Susan Komen Foundation instead.

2

Too bad. I love the slogan, and donate whenever I can.

Cancer is scary, and a lot of people therefore don’t like to talk about it or think about it. Anything that fosters communication, knowledge and action is a Good Thing.
Save the Bazongas!

3

I’m inclined to agree with the OP. It’s difficult to look a gift horse in the mouth – any campaign that draws attention to a cause and gets people to donate can’t be all bad, but when the focus seems to be that breasts are important in and of themselves (as long as they’re young and big), it’s harder to see the connection between them and my 50-something aunt with a double mastectomy.

But I’m still most annoyed with companies that get you to buy their products, many of which are potentially carcinogenic, because they’re donating .5% of profits to research.

4

People use humor to face horrible things.

If you find this offensive, don’t do a breast cancer march.

5

I see it as a way to get men more interested in donating for The Cure. My friend does a walk every year and her team is named something like “Team Save The Boobies!”

Think about it - a bunch of young guys might pass by a group of middle-aged women with pink ribbons because “eh, it’s just breast cancer.” But if you ask the same dudes “Hey guys, do you like BOOBIES?!” they’ll say yes and then you can get them excited (cough) about the cause.

If breast cancer touches someone’s life in a different way - say their mom or aunt or grandma gets it - they WILL think about it in a different way, I’d think. But if it’s just a way to get people to donate or talk about the subject, let 'em use ta-tas.

6

I participated in a 5K run/walk for breast cancer in May. One of the, er, honored guests was a 22-ish girl who had recently undergone a double mastectomy. She had no family history or anything, just started not feeling right, and they ran every test in the book and found nothing wrong until she insisted on a mammogram.

Her family and friends had custom T-shirts made up as a surprise show of support, along with banners that said things like (I wish I could remember them all) “SAVE SECOND BASE.” My friend (who recently had a serious bout with BC herself) thought they were cute.

I myself had a scare about a month ago . . . turned out to be nothing, but for several days I was on the ceiling and hubby had to scrape me off. There was never a serious risk, but trust me, my brain was running overtime imagining all the worst possibilities. (Somebody has to make up the 1 percent or whatever, right?) Hubby was his usual rock self, and one of the things he did to keep me calm was something we always do in a crisis: Joke about it. Keep things light. Laughing about how I needed to go into the shop, inspecting the incision and saying “Yabbut, you should see the other guy,” etc.

When I got the all-clear after minor surgery to remove and biopsy the “nothing,” I reported the whole story to my e-mail lists, along with a plea to all the ladies to be sure and get their mammograms, under the subject line “Save Second Base!”

It absolutely is serious and scary; no one is denying that. But a little levity goes a long way.

7

Yup. I haven’t dealt with breast cancer but at this point, I look with a very jaundiced gaze at anything emblazoned in pink. Too many companies seem to just be riding the latest cause in search of profits alone.

8

I’m in Colorado Springs, home of Pike’s Peak. At work, we sponsor a walking team that calls itself “Save the Front Range.” This year in an organization of about 90 people, we raised over $5000 (I say “we”. I just contributed, they did all the hard work). Funny quirky team names and slogans may be juvenile, but they are remembered, laughed at and rallied around.

9

As long as they’re helping the cause by donating money, I don’t mind it.

It puts a human face on things and it adds humor. Something that sometimes needs to be done more often with other diseases.

10

I am a breast cancer survivor. I posted about it here last year and got lots of positive support. I must tell you that you are operating under several false assumptions.

While breast cancer is scary, it’s not nasty. Caught early enough, the survival rates are excellent. Medical advances and treatments have come a long way.

Under your scenario, I had the “bad” outcome. I had a lumpectomy (and you can’t see the scars, unless you know where to look) with no lymph node involvement. Yes, I lost my hair with chemotherapy, but with drugs to counter the side effects I had no nausea or vomiting, just a bit of queasiness that was easily alleviated by popping a pill. I continued to work during my chemotherapy and my radiation treatments.

I find “Save the Ta-Tas” funny and instantly recognizable. I’m sorry you’re offended by an important effort to raise money and make women laugh (and during this time, humor is very important. I wore two t-shirts to chemo, one that said "Bald is the New Black, given to me by a fellow Doper, and one that said I’m Too Sexy for My Hair. I also wore a beanie cap with a propeller on top, loaned to me by another Doper.)

What you need to realize is in this day and age, not only is breast cancer survivable, we can go through it and come out the other side stronger and fitter than other.

So, if you don’t like Save the Ta-Tas, can I interest you in my own slogan, Squish the Boobies to Save the Boobies?

11

You don’t have to do anything to get most men interested in breasts and by extension breast cancer. In that way, it’s tacky: they do not have to try this hard to get attention and support.

I find it weird that breast cancer organizations are indulging in PETA-style attention getting tactics. (I’m comparing this to the “I’d rather go naked than wear fur” ads and the sexy vegetable ad, not the stupidity and terrorism.) “Save the Ta-Tas” is supposed to be funny, so I don’t want to take it too seriously, but it’s odd. It’s a good cause, but it is already incredibly well known, well funded, and popular. Breast cancer causes are involved with Major League Baseball, and so is the NFL, and probably any other organization that wants to look kind and socially responsible while appealing to women. Breast Cancer Research would probably beat Save the Puppies in a head-to-head donation competition.

And don’t get me wrong, I am glad research on breast cancer has gotten to this treatable and ‘acceptable’ point. That’s good for everyone. But if someone close to you has a rare form of cancer and you see breast cancer groups going for more and more dollars when other people are just as sick, or sicker, and can’t get the time of day - let’s say it’s extremely frustrating.

12

It is a tacky slogan, but it’s not cool to point this out, apparently.

13

90% of the buses around here used to transport workers are produced by Tata Motors, and say TATA on the back in large letters. Whenever I get behind one in traffic, “Save the Tatas!” goes through my mind. Okay, not relevant, but there you have it.

14

Imagine for a moment that you’re talking to your doctor and he tells you that you have testicular cancer. Fast forward a few months and none of the treatments have quite done the trick. The only chance you have is to have them removed. Now think about that for a moment. You are going to be castrated. The organs that most define you as a man are about to be removed. How do you imagine you would feel? Maybe like losing a piece of yourself? A very big piece of your very identity as a man.

From what I am given to understand (I’m a dude too) from my friend, this is how a woman feels facing a mastectomy. Think about how much importance we as men place on our balls. A man without them isn’t a man at all, right? Don’t you think they might have similar ideas about certain of their own bodies? That they might be thinking a woman who has lost one or both of her breasts is less than a woman?

So yeah, I shall support this “save the ta-tas” campaign. To save the whole woman, every little bit and piece of her. Because I believe every woman is beautiful, and I pray for the day when every woman agrees.

15

The word “ovaries” floats inexplicably to mind, but yes, I’m sure a lot of men and women with those diagnoses feel that way. I support research for breast cancer. This specific marketing campaign is a separate issue.

16

I get the feeling they latched onto a noble cause, with a catchy slogan (“Aren’t we edgy! We wear shirts that say “ta-tas” on them… in public!”), and are making money off it. Sure, some of the proceeds go to research and support, but I get the sneaky feeling someone, somewhere, is giggling all the way to the bank.

If someone can prove that Save the Ta-tas is a 100% volunteer organization and 100% of all proceeds from the sale of promotional items are donated to appropriate research / treatment / support organizations then I’ll strongly consider changing my opinion.

But in the meantime, I think someone is making money selling t-shirts that say “ta-tas” and hiding their tackiness behind a good cause.

17

Bless you and kick ass!

I’ve experienced cancer in my family, although admittedly never breast cancer, and admittedly I’ve never had cancer myself. Obviously our viewpoints will differ, but in my mind cancer is like a car accident = it’s never “good”, the only question is how bad it’ll be. “Nasty” might be an overly broad generalization, but…

I wouldn’t say “offended”, maybe just “irked”.

Only if the event is held at my local Hooters. (Dang… that was just as tacky as the save the ta-tas thing. I take that back.)

18

I agree, even if it appeals to the lowest common denominator in men, at least it gets them interested in a worthy cause.

19

This probably won’t be a popular opinion, but I view this kind of thing as a way to pull money away from general cancer research and focus it on one particular kind.

I had lymphoma. It’s not sexy. People don’t wear special pink ribbons for it. You rarely see rallies and walks and huge advertising campaigns for liver cancer or testicular cancer or sickle-cell anemia or brain cancer–and when they do have events, they get only a tiny fraction of the news coverage that breast cancer gets.

I think breast cancer research is marvelous. But I can’t help resenting the incredible selling power of boobs when all of the other types of cancer research are hurting for money, too.

20

I’ve thought like that as well, and think it is true to some degree. I think it is more true when you talk about cancer awareness among the general public. The lifetime risk of prostate cancer is much higher than that for breast cancer (although you are less likely to die from prostate cancer), but you don’t see public service announcements telling you to get tested for prostate cancer.

From my perspective as a cell biology graduate student, the research funding specifically into breast cancer research is much less troubling. All cancer is not the same of course, but there are overlaps in their biology. Better understanding one type may lead to advances in treatment of other types. For example, Herceptin, which targets a specific molecule which is often overexpressed in breast cancer, is now being investigated for use in treatment of a number of other cancers.