When Did Breast Cancer Become So Funny

By Men For A Cause Wednesday, December 01, 2010

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Okay… I have held my tongue as long as I can but I can’t take it anymore!

When did breast cancer or any cancer become so funny? Imagine having a mastectomy and your partner talking about how much he "loves boobie or bouncing boobs" etc. for that matter... It seems that every time I pick the computer there is a new article or movement that thinks the word boob or tits and breast cancer are synonymous. I'm not certain who these organizations are directing their message to but if you wouldn't let your 3 year old say " I love boobs" or ask your grandmother if she had her “boobs” checked for lumps, why do you think boobs should be used when referring to breast cancer... There are so many terms other then boob or tits that can be used when discussion breast cancer that don't have a sexual undertone. I understand that many people are trying to make light of a difficult illness but there is something to be said for tact.

Even as a man that “speaks Mars” I get “Save The Tatas”… and I love what they have done and continue to do but many of you have missed the mark. “I Love Boobies” is a joke! Kids aren’t fighting to wear “I Love Boobies” bracelets because it raises awareness for the cause! Kids are wearing the bracelets because “boobs” is a dirty word to little boys and girls. Ask any of those kids how many women and men died from breast cancer this year…

Women have fought long and hard to be taken serious and to be valued for who they are on the inside and not objectified but for some reason when we are discussing the leading killer of women globally it’s Okay to objectify their parts… Men For A Cause, United Against Breast Cancer is here to say it’s not okay! Enough Commercialization… Enough Sexualization… Enough Objectification… These antics do nothing for breast health or breast cancer education! I call upon the people to unite in the fight for a cure and to hold organizations to a higher standard. We live in a time were schools are faced with diminishing resources yet our schools are having to spend money in the legal system because some kid couldn’t wear an “I Love Boobies” bracelet. Ask yourself, Is this what the fight for a cure is really about… Breast cancer is a global pandemic killing more and more women and men every year yet instead of focusing our attention on saving lives we are defending the right to wear “I Love Boobies.” To the families and the attorneys engaged in this frivolous loss suit, we ask you to donate what you would have spent to a local community clinic to help underprivileged and underserved women get much needed and underfunded breast cancer treatment.

We should look to empower women and men to fight for their lives and for the memory of those who are no longer able to fight. This is not a question of freedom of speech, there still is such thing as right and wrong. Let’s get the message of educating women and men about breast health and breast cancer back on track... The fact is utilizing the word boobs sexualizes a horrendous disease and does as much to educate people about breast health and breast cancer as "I love nuts" would do to raise awareness of testicular cancer. If we allow breast cancer to become the punch line we have lost sight of what we set out to do... educate, motivate and empower women and men in the fight against breast cancer while trying to prevent cancer before it begins.

When Did Breast Cancer Become So Funny? Part II

Comments (9) | Add comment

PJ Hamel, Health Guide

12/ 1/10 8:11am

Your post makes some excellent points. As someone who's a marketer by trade, I understand where the sexual idiom angle in these T-shirts and wrist bands comes from; companies (and Susan Komen) are out to be noticed and make sales. But it's definitely taking the low road to do so. I love your analogy about "I love nuts" - you're so right. Thank you very much for taking the time to post here - and for taking a stand against the cheapening and crass commercialization of the fight to end breast cancer. PJH

Phyllis Johnson, Health Guide

12/ 1/10 7:08pm

I agree with your main points. All too often commercialization takes away from the important work of cancer education and research.

I have learned, however, that the word "boob" does not have the same connotation for everyone. It was never my choice of a word for "breast" because of its connection to the meaning of "boob" as an idiot. After 12 years of talking to women about their breast cancer, however, I've learned that for many women, "boob" is their normal word for that part of their body. Sure, if they are at the doctor, they might use the more professional word, "breast," but at home, "boob" is what they say whether the context is sexual or not. I teach middle school students, so I know that the motivation of some (probably most) of the students who wore the "I love boobies" wrist band was to shock, but there is no word to refer to breasts that doesn't have sexual connotations for eighth graders!

Thank you so much for sharing your ideas here. It's so wonderful to have men who take an interest in breast cancer and who support the need for education and effective treatment.

LAUGHING all the way

12/18/10 5:49pm

I came across your posting while searching for "funny breast cancer" sayings and I just had to laugh. And be so grateful that we are blessed to be surrounded by friends and family that would completely disagree with your opinion.

Laughter is incredible medicine. It might not be how you would like to handle the situation, but don't shame the rest of us for NOT taking our body parts so seriously. Ironic, when the situation is so serious, but whatever 'lightens' and brings a sense of brevity to such a suffocating word.... CANCER.... can do nothing but help.

If any of the breast cancer puns or slightly off-color humor, encourage dialogue, that might not otherwise occur, bravo.

Best of luck with your serious approach. I have to get back to planning my mothers party. You might want to stop reading here, as to not get offended.

My mothers double mastectomy is Jan 6, so we are throwing her a fantastic party at none other than..... HOOTERS! It is called, "Hooters To Go!" Everyone, including men will be in pink and we will raise a glass, lift her spirits and celebrate her kicking cancers ass! Not to mention the fabulous new HEALTHY, vertically-unchallenged, "hooters" she will be getting!

All the best,

Laughing all the way!!!!!!!

Phyllis Johnson, Health Guide

12/18/10 7:27pm

Have a wonderful time at your "hooters to go" party! You are right that laughter is a wonderful way to deal with a crisis. Not everyone would do it quite that way, but there are definitely times when laughing is better than crying. Some of my friends had a "hat party" for me when I was losing my hair. They brought silly hats and scarves, and we all (including my 17 year-old son) tried them on and posed for silly pictures. The party did include one pretty hat for me to keep, which I still have 12 and a half years later as a reminder of their love and ability to laugh with me. Take plenty of pictures at your party. The friendship those pictures will represent is much more important than a body part.

katie

2/10/11 9:29pm

Thanks for this post. And to the "hooters to go" commentor, consider this. You can have irreverant humor and lots of laughs without sexualizing or trivializing a disease that kills 40,000 women in the US every year.

Sorry, but it's just not funny. I don't think a blithe "lighten up" is appropriate for everyone.

Humor heals some...

2/12/11 1:41pm

Sorry if that was viewed as irreverant humor or implied that we don't take this diagnosis seriously.

I think this just goes to show, there is not ONE, perfect way to handle this diagnosis. What is offensive to some, is healing for others.

I respect anyones approach to beating this disease. Humor is what helps my family deal with my Muscular Dystrophy and my mom beating her breast cancer. But humor and laughter are NOT an indication of us not taking our diagnosis(s) seriously. If anything, they are signs of how much we truly value our time here and appreciate the joy of love and laughter. Diseases rob us of so much.... I simply refuse to let them take away joy as well.

Our approach has provided our family a great support system, opened many lines of communication amongst caring friends and most importantly, provided her with what she needed to have a successful double mastectomy. Still a long road ahead, but off to a GREAT start.

Good luck to every single person battling this deceitful opponent, cancer.

I appologize if our approach seemed blithe or offensive to anyone.

anonymous

2/11/11 8:08am

I had breast cancer - not "boobie" cancer.

I do not like being objectified or made a joke of.

Breast cancer is killing my friends.

Women who have been diagnosed can make a joke about their own cancer. But NO ONE else should be allowed to turn their life-threatening disease into a joke. It's a humiliating disease and we have to endure strangers touching us constantly. And even if you're diagnosed friend/wife/mother/husband/etc, is joking about it, that's for YOUR benefit, not theirs. Try to be more sensitive, please.

Phyllis Johnson, Health Guide

2/12/11 6:33pm

Your point about who should joke about a situation is very well-taken. I will tell cancer jokes and jokes about my religion and ethnic background because they are MY jokes about ME. Depending on the context, I probably would find some of the same jokes offensive if they were said by other people. I don't tell jokes about other people's troubles or backgrounds.

Everyone's sense of humor differs. Many people would rather laugh than cry, so please don't be too hard on a cancer patient who cracks jokes to get through her day.

BeauBeau

4/18/11 11:17am

Having had prophylactic double mastectomies after testing positive for BRCA2 and having watched my grandma, mother, aunt, and sisters battle breast cancer, I for one completely agree with this writer. I don't think it boils down to whether humor is or isn't acceptable in the context of a life-threatening disease. That's personal. We all deal differently. If you want to go celebrate your mastectomies at Hooters - that's your choice. I don't get it, but I'm not impacted by how you handle your personal challenges. The bigger issue for me is that the breast cancer industry is objectifying women's bodies and sexualizing our breasts to advance their goals. Let's be clear that many of those goals are not about raising funds to "cure" breast cancer either. It's just cause marketing designed to increase their personal/corporate profits, banking on our suffering. Now THAT impacts me. The likes of Hooters exists to make money off the objectification and sexualization of women's breasts. But co-opting the Hooters model for addressing a disease that is killing so many of us!? Makes me sick.

When Did Breast Cancer Become So Funny

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