yesterday, almost every woman in my friends list posts a status listing a color. figuring there was something odd going on i asked what was the deal, is something going on, getting only a yes answer.
I found out this morning from another friend that it was apparently some group doing it as away to support breast cancer awareness, who told the women not to tell the men. seriously? WHAT THE FUCK? i’d think by now breast cancer is pretty well known, and supported, moreso than other more deadly forms of cancer. I don’t see a damn lymphoma awareness ribbon on the back of a car, or an esophageal cancer button on a lapel. but wat really gets me is, why exclude men? cancer isn’t picky. men need to be aware of breast cancer to! OMG MEN GET BREAST CANCER!
and they don’t talk about it, some wouldn’t even think it possible, especially with the way the breast cancer awareness movement has marketed themselves. Persionally i wouldn’t try to promote testicular cancer awareness with “say what color shorts you are wearing but don’t tell the wimminfolk why”. its fucking absurd. if anyone needs to be aware of something like that then we ALL do.
I have to say, my first thought was something on the order of, “There’s a stupid and pointless meme on Facebook? Next you’ll be telling me that water is wet!”
It’s not just any ol’ color. Its the color of the bra you’re wearing right now. That does make it a bit less likely a man would participate. My friends haven’t “kept it a secret from men” though.
Well some of my friends were doing it and someone posted a response of “it’s spreading”
So I, knowing what it was, said,
It’s spreading like a cancer! Look, ladies, posting your bra color to promote breast cancer awareness is just lame. I’m aware of it. Now I’m more aware of it. Will breast cancer go seek out breasts that are less aware? Also, you are only making me picture you in your bra, which, btw, I’m doing anyway, but now I’m doing it more accurately.
I was puzzled, but after i saw that it was only my women friends posting it and then getting some results like “cream with lace,” I pretty much figured it out. But seriously, I wasn’t upset about it. If you want to get upset about something stupid regarding breast cancer, there was a quote from Carly Simon who said that “If men got breast cancer, they’d have figured out a cure by now.” Again, she needed it pointed out to her that yes, men do get breast cancer AND they are the only ones who get testicular cancer and yet, there is no cure for that.
My Father died due to breast cancer that spread to his bones. He was poorly diagnosed in part because he did not seek early medical help, and when he did, his (older) GP did not take it seriously enough. I get really PISSED OFF at groups who marginalize men who get breast cancer.
3 months after my dad died I was with some people when the topic of breast cancer came up. I mentioned that my dad had recently died from it. A snotty little bitch decided to give me a dressing down about my bad “sense of humour” and told me that breast cancer was no laughing matter. 5 minutes later after I filled her in about the medical facts and how he died in excruciating detail, she knew that men did indeed get this form of cancer, and my father did, in fact recently die from it.
I’m pretty sure she wanted to crawl away into a hole somewhere, but I did not give her that easy escape route.
Men get breast cancer. Please don’t play cute games of “what color is my bra”.
I don’t think anyone was meaning to marginalize breast cancer in men. The OP’s friends were misinformed or being douchey. It became pretty clear what was going on to me and afforded me a laugh when my clueless dad changed his profile pic to a picture of him holding a salmon he caught and changed his status to Salmon. Oh, I giggled for minutes, let me tell you. Is it silly? Yes. Is it pointless? Probably. Is it worth getting upset about? Only if there’s no drama on TMZ.
Also, purchase a breast cancer awareness bracelet from the google ads!
Yes, thanks to this particular meme, I know what colour bras my boyfriend’s mother has been wearing the last three days. Can’t tell you how glad I am to have that information…
Ditto random relatives and co-workers and acquaintances. Yay Facebook.
It’s not revealing the secret that breast cancer exists. Everybody knows it exists, men and women alike. The point here is remind you of it, bring it a little more forward in your mind for a bit, maybe make you think about it.
The “don’t tell the men” part is just a bit of fun, and it makes the campaign even more noticeable due to the men wandering around asking what’s going on. They all find out eventually. It’s not a real secret. It takes 2 seconds to find out, and by doing so you become slightly more aware of the subject matter.
The existence of this thread indicates that the above is working.