Beautiful in Pink: Is This Women's Health Activism?

When talking on pink Kitchen Help mixers, it was began that instead of confronting women’s health problems by critically assessing women’s place within a gendered world and examining the societal determinants of health, such events and goods appear to strengthen problematic stereotypes of and expectations for women.


Lots of journalists and activists have already issued pointed critiques of such labors. Some, particularly the association Think Before You Pink, have examined whether money raised by breast cancer charity events contributes to the cause in a significant way. Other people have questioned the value of continuous to encourage women to endure mammograms when the systematic literature is starting to reassess the cost-benefit analysis of this method.


In addition, it is also important to recognize that these campaigns contain numerous narratives - narratives not just of illness, but of gender and sexuality, too. Deciphering just what these cultural narratives are telling us matters because it is largely through these narratives that we come to know what breast cancer means.


The products and events that are used to raise money for breast cancer often have as much to do with traditional femininity as they do with women's health. As I walked down Main Street in my small town this weekend, I was especially struck by posters in half a dozen shop windows for a "Stiletto Stampede" - a breast cancer walk in which participants wear their favorite high heels - geared toward raising funds for breast cancer. Similarly, while I was stocking up my kitchen this summer, I was overwhelmed by the array of kitchen products electric mixers, food processors, hot mitts galore that are sold in pink to raise money for breast cancer.


The breast cancer movement was initially a staunchly feminist movement. As such, it was not only concerned with women's health per se but also with conceptions of gender and sexual politics at large. The early movement challenged the medical institution's objectifying and patriarchal lens and insisted that doctors listen to women's voices about their own bodies.


The "Stiletto Stampede" and pink Kitchen Aid mixers hardly evoke that feminist zeal. Rather than confronting women's health issues by critically assessing women's position within a gendered world and examining the social determinants of health, such events and products seem to reinforce problematic stereotypes of and expectations for women. While perhaps raising money for breast cancer research and educating women about the risk of breast cancer claims which need to be examined themselves, they do so at a cost: in such campaigns, participation in women's health activism is paradoxically positioned alongside the symbols of unattainable beauty and the burden of domestic duties that have all too often held women back, both personally and politically.


Breast cancer campaigns can additionally reinforce the state of childlike dependence women have had to push back against in their struggles to become full citizens. I am inclined to believe that efforts of groups promoting breast cancer awareness are well intentioned. Yet despite the good intentions and the potential funds raised for breast cancer research, the gendered scripts that underpin such campaigns are arguably not beneficial to women.


Perhaps even more problematic than the relentless stream of stereotypically feminine products sold in pink for breast cancer and the paternalistic subtexts of many breast cancer campaigns is the tendency of certain segments of today's breast cancer movement to reveal a disturbing fascination with women's breasts.


One of the most egregious examples of this is a breast cancer awareness campaign proposed for high schools across the U.S. that features bracelets with the phrase ‘I Boobies'. Rather than promote meaningful breast cancer education - whatever that would be for such young girls - these tantalizing bracelets, provided by an organization called the Keep a Breast Foundation, fixate on women's breasts as sexy objects rather than promote women's health and well-being. Even if such a breast cancer campaign did raise millions of dollars for breast cancer research, is it excusable to objectify and sexualize women in the name of women's health?


Rather than compelling other women to receive their yearly breast exam, I suspect these posts simply got a lot of people most especially men thinking about these women having sex.


My critiques of these numerous breast cancer campaigns might suggest that I am not concerned about breast cancer, that I do not appreciate the good intentions of those trying to raise awareness about women's health and to support women with breast cancer, or that I am too uptight to find the humor in playful sexual banter. None of these assertions is true.


Rather, what concerns me are the ways in which our social world, including the ways we talk about sex and structure gender norms, can become mixed up with public health and health activism efforts. In this case, problematic ideas about women's sexuality and femininity are wrapped up in efforts to actually help women. And when problematic gender expectations are integrated into campaigns to raise money for or awareness of women's health, those problematic gender expectations are all too often excused, ignored, or simply unnoticed.


But even though we excuse, pay no attention to, or miss all of them together, cultural narratives are part and parcel of health activism. In a few cases, such narratives could be empowering and can play a important role in changing societal relations and personal actions. We ought to acknowledge that breast cancer awareness week is not only a week for raising money for breast cancer research and inspiring women to get mammograms. Additionally it is a time to form the kinds of narratives we tell about breast cancer and ladies. Breast cancer awareness campaigns might then better serve women if they could reject narratives of women as just  reliant, and frivolous.


Maybe I just gave a poor description of the campaign. I said they were photographed wearing pink shirts. Perhaps they were also photographed coming to the help of women only? If not, how is the campaign focused on women in need? So I believe this problem is complicated.


Copyright by Lucy, a beautiful girl who likes writing, singing and shopping, article submission is her favorite thing.