Boycott October

I have finally realized why the whole pink ribbon/pink marketing thing makes me so angry: I feel exploited.

When I first wrote about pink ribbons two years ago, I said, “Instead of pink ribbons, I'd rather have national health insurance or any health insurance plan that insures SICK people. The way things are now, if you are young and healthy, you can get health insurance at a reasonable cost. If you are old or, God forbid, sick, forget it.

"If you want to support people with cancer, forget the ribbon and lobby for national health care. Or for a state health insurance plan that is open to everyone, rich and poor, sick and well.”

I also did the math for a number of pink products, including pink M&Ms, and calculated how little actually went to breast cancer causes.

This month I’ve been blogging about a number of pink topics, including Breast Cancer Barbie, pink soup, and the Pink for October campaign.

In the responses I’ve gotten, I’ve realized that most (not all, but most) of the people who support the “pinking of October” are people whose lives have been affected by breast cancer because a relative or friend had the disease. But they do not have breast cancer themselves.

Most of the women I know who are living with breast cancer dislike the whole pink ribbon thing. Some are extremely distressed by the pink marketing effort and even by Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

My friend Jill Cohen writes in her blog,
“Do me a favor: if you want to support breast cancer research, advocacy, or related issues, DON'T BUY PINK. The few dollars or even pennies donated per item can't provide enough funding to help in a big way. Women with breast cancer would be better off if you simply made a donation to an appropriate charity.”

Then Jill lists some suggestions if you do want to help, including making donations to breast cancer research, education, early detection, patient support, and advocacy.

She concludes, “But don't buy pink for me. It doesn't help.”

And this is from a woman who understands cause marketing. Jill was the manager of the Northwest AIDS Walk at the time she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1999.

And, as I mentioned, October causes a lot of anxiety and distress for some breast cancer survivors. "If someone gives me a pink ribbon, I want to cry," one survivor wrote on a bulletin board.

Boycott
I have decided that next October I will not be home to be bombarded by ads for pink products purporting to help me—pink toilet paper and pink TicTacs, Breast Cancer Barbie and pink Campbell’s soup. Nor will I be available to read lame stories about breast cancer and what it takes to survive (a winning laugh, according to one Seattle newspaper columnist). Read The 'Undaunted' Die Too.

I will be on a pilgrimage on the island of Shikoku in Japan, hiking from temple to temple, far away from TV, newspapers, magazines, and advertising in all its forms. I will even leave my beloved laptop at home.

Before I go, however, I plan to organize a boycott.

I’m calling it “Boycott October.”

I will be making pink (yes, pink. It’s the "fight fire with fire" principle) buttons that say “Boycott October,” and then in smaller type: “Don’t buy pink products. Don’t exploit women with breast cancer.”

I will send a button, absolutely free, to anyone who e-mails me and asks for it. I will also send you a flier that you can copy and hand out to anyone who asks about your button. It will explain why you are asking them to boycott pink products.

It is women who control the disposable income in this country. Put your financial power to work and end the exploitation of women with breast cancer.

If you e-mail me your address now, I will put you on the mailing list to receive a button next September. And I pledge not to use this list for any other purpose or to sell it to any other organization or charity (since I am neither an organization nor a charity, just a writer with breast cancer).

@ Jeanne Sather 2006

Comments

[Roz]

Spot on to everything from down under in Australia. There is so much pink and it has become so commercialised that most people are getting sick of the whole breast cancer 'pink' thing. As a breast cancer survivor of 32 years, I felt the way to help stop people dieing from the disease was to educate our young adults, girls and guys with awareness and early detection - and - they must want it as we average 60,000 hits a week on www.yapstuff.org without the support of any major finance from goverments or national companies.

[Rebecca]

Wow, great blog posts. Not sure if you're familiar with Breast Cancer Action's Think Before You Pink campaign but I think it's probably right up your alley... (thinkbeforeyoupink.org)

[D]

isn't it rather hypocritical to be sending out pink buttons to encourage people to boycott pink October?

granted, nothing gives better press (bad press is good press) to a cause than negative campaigns. it's likely you'll bring attention to alternate ways of donating and this will promote even more awareness of the issue.

regarding people that sell things with the pink theme that donate a percentage to a cause.. it still takes money to make product and to pay those that make it. people can't work for free.

again, awareness is key.

[Jeanne]

Roz--thanks for sending me the link to yapstuff.org. I'm just going to check it out now as I've been out of town for a few days to see my oncologist (who moved to Arizona).

Jeanne

[debutaunt]

Rock on. Found your site by Goog lame pink products. I think that if you exploit the pink, you should be forced to donate at LEAST 50% or more of the profit to breast cancer research. Yes it costs money to make products, but if you can't assure that a larger percentage goes to research, then don't do it. The companies should make a straight donation instead. Why should a company get 99.5% of the profit, but get the good press of "donating."

LAME.

[therapydoc]

Whoa, I'm so confused. What about the 100 million dollars the Avon website claims went to research, etc.?

Please read my post and let me know what's going on here. But be sensitive, if you're going to comment, please, (I'm sure you would be) to the women who wrote in, the ones who talked to me on that walk.

http://everyoneneedstherapy.blogspot.com/2007/06/women-in-pink.html
Thanks

[Jenn]

wow. I can certainly understand your feelings and you have a right to take a stand just like anyone else in this country, but im going to add my two cents. my great aunt had breast cancer, i had a scare of breast cancer, and she supported PINK.. to us, anything to bring awareness is a good thing, even if all or few of the monies are spent helping the cause, at least people will be reminded to do something about it. I know a lot of people who, when they see pink, think, o man i need to donate to research etc. and that to me, is a good thing. at least it sends a message to people. i dont care how the word gets out, but at least it is getting out. i can see how maybe you feel exploited, but i know all survivors, or those batteling, dont feel that way. I also know that a lot of people who buy pink products also go on 5k runs, 10k, to raise money for breast cancer, they also do fundraisers around this time of year, like I do. its also a time for us to explain to young girls about why pink is important, not that you should be it, but to be aware of your body, do self exams etc. there are two sides to every story, a million different opinions, and this one, just happens to be mine.

[jeanne]

Jenn--your attitude is pretty typical of women who had or have a relative who had breast cancer. The women who HATE pink and the whole pink ribbon cause marketing thing are women who have or have had breast cancer themselves.

Your great aunt is no longer around for me to ask, so I don't know how she really felt.

I don't think you would feel this way if you had breast cancer yourself, but maybe you would. My point is, we need to listen to the voices of the women who this whole madness is supposedly designed to help, and many of them, if not most, are saying they hate it.

So why do it? There are other, better, ways to raise money.

Jeanne

[Elsie]

It seems that pink is a terrible reminder for people who go through this.

[Rose Dominguez]

I feel differently. Having gone through breast cancer this whole past year, chemo, surgery and radiation and encountering many difficulities thoughout these treatments, I totally embrace my pinkness, from my Coach watch, a gift from my husband to my Coach hot pink tennies from my beautiful adult daughter, I Love Pink!!!!!!