A friend of mine, who is also living with metastatic breast cancer, is on a trip to Italy, and she has spotted Benign Girl!
I guess I shouldn't be surprised that this Chinese-made Barbie Doll knock-off is for sale around the world, but I am.
Photos to follow.
Don't know what I'm talking about? Read:
Well, I am incredibly organized, for a change, and have already ordered my Boycott October 2008 buttons (they should be here within a week or so), and it's only January!
The 2008 buttons are the black square ones. The text is hard to read in the photo (but not on the buttons). It says: "It's a disease, not a marketing opportunity."
I was going to keep the buttons and not send them out till about September, but then I realized that Komen is not taking a break the rest of the year (remember Pink Friday, the Friday after Thanksgiving?) so I don't think I should either.
I'm sending out buttons (either the new ones or the 2007 pink ones or both) to everyone who sends me a donation. So if you'd like some buttons, just send a donation in any amount using the button below.
Your mailing address shows up in my PayPal account, but you might want to send me an e-mail as well telling me which buttons you want and how many: jeanne.sather@gmail.com
If you've already made a donation to The Assertive Cancer Patient, I have you on the list to receive buttons as soon as they arrive.
I'm also planning to order stickers with the same design (Haven't done that yet, but Jacqueline sent me the contact info for a place that prints stickers). I figure these will be good for a little guerrilla-counter-pink-ribbon-marketing.
You know, whenever you see a store display with disgusting pink merchandise, just slap on one of these stickers, which will say, "It's a disease, not a marketing opportunity," just like the buttons.
My friends continue to send me links to pink ribbon merchandise year-round. The latest was a pink-ribbon Chevron car.
New to this blog? Don't know what I'm talking about?
Read: Boycott October!
(Scroll down to see all the posts in this category.)
No comment: The Chevron Breast Cancer Car
@ Jeanne Sather 2008.
Nothing like being ready in plenty of time!
I already have the design for the 2008 Boycott October button, thanks to Sara, who sent me this design a while back. I think it's a great counter-point to that sea of sickly pink that we all have to wade through every October.
The only thing I need now is a company that can make me a square button. Checked in with Busy Beaver Button Co., and they have a square button!
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@ Jeanne Sather 2008.
OK, so this is cancer-related silliness, but I think we're entitled. We have to get some humor out of our situation, and Benign Girl, a Chinese Barbie-doll knock-off, so perfectly fills the bill.
When you have a tumor, which in and of itself is not cancer, the big question is whether or not the tumor is cancerous (bad) or benign (good).
Most of the people who read my blog have been in cancer territory for some time, and for one person, at least, they were ALWAYS there.
I think I started paying special attention to the comments and posts of my friend and fellow cancer blogger, Amorette, when she drew my attention to the existence of Benign Girl, and then again when she commented that she had never had a chance to be Benign Girl. Because of some nasty industrial polluting by Dupont, Amorette has had cancer since before she was born.
Her mother also has had some five or six DIFFERENT CANCERS.
These simple facts boggle my mind. At the same time, I can't help being fascinated by Amorette, and how she has managed to fashion an interesting life for herself despite numerous deep disappointments (having to drop out of medical school, for one). Amorette is the bento artist I've mentioned before.
A bento is a Japanese box lunch, always a work of art, but Amorette's go way beyond the bento you can find in any Japanese train station or department store basement (the food is always in the basement). Since I've spent something like seven-plus years of my life in Japan, and Amorette has a life-long fascination with Japan, that was a bond as well.
Yet another side note: I'm planning to spend at least three weeks in Japan next October, the treatment gods willing, as part of my efforts to Boycott October. Amorette is hoping to join me for part of that trip. I'm going to create a new category on my blog dedicated to the trip soon, because if it is going to happen, I need to start planning.
Back to Benign Girl
So, Benign Girl.
Amorette told me months ago that she had seen these dolls at a swap meet or dollar store, I forget which. Then, when she wanted to actually buy some, they proved elusive. We had to satisfy ourselves by making our own and with the purchase of Benign Girl accessories, such as toy phones.
Then, finally, just a few days before Christmas, a huge, pink (but that's another story--Amorette, do you want to tell it?) box arrived on my front porch. Inside was Benign Girl. Success! Thanks, Amorette.
She looks very much like the original Barbie doll, made by Mattel, but slightly out of focus. Maybe they (the folks at the Chinese factory) made a mold from a real Barbie, and this is the result. Or maybe Benign Girl is made at the same Chinese factory where the "real" Barbies are made, using the same molds, after hours, and then shipped out the back door, out of sight of the folks from Mattel.
I understand this happens with knock-off shoes and other manufactured goods, so it's not so farfetched. The Nikes go out the front door, the Nike knock-offs go out the back, both made by the same workers using the same (or cheaper) materials and machines.
Anyway, Benign Girl.
I also love the thought that this doll was named by some Chinese factory manager, possibly dressed in a Mao suit (although I understand the Chinese no longer wear Mao pajamas, as the Western press used to call them, as they go about their daily lives) ... Anyway, dressed in a Mao suit, flipping through his Chinese-English dictionary, looking for the right word.
And he came up with "benign." He must have wanted something like "sweet." Or "innocent." But the dictionary spit out "benign." Any Chinese speakers out there who have an idea of what the original Chinese word might have been? Or the characters?
And then I love the slightly wonky English on the box: "Best Gift for Children." "Battery Operated. Creative. Various Music." Note the complete lack of any articles, definite (the) or indefinite (a, an).
As a long-time Japanese-to-English translator, I can attest to the difficulty of making translated material sound natural in English. And who's going to make all that much effort for a doll? These are actually pretty good, except for the howler of naming her Benign Girl, which is what started this whole silliness in the first place.
Read more:
Prostate Cancer Ken and Breast Cancer Barbie: The Happy Couple, Together at Last
(Go to her blog; she's having way too much fun playing with chocolate over there. Of course, it's chocolate with a political message, which makes it OK, right? This is truly a food artist we have here.)
And I need to rejoin the real world, at least for the rest of the day.
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@ Jeanne Sather 2007.
...Or safe to venture back into a grocery or department store, anyway, now that October is over and the pink shlock has been dumped on the deep-discount tables ...
But no, Komen just can't stop beating that Retail Therapy Dead Horse.
The Friday after Thanksgiving, the biggest shopping day of the year for most retailers, is sometimes called Black Friday. Now, one electronics retailer has decided to rename the day "Pink Friday," and donate $250,000 of its customers' money to, of course, The Komen Foundation.
Bad idea. Isn't one month of the year enough? Actually, one month of the year is too much.
I know where I'll be on Friday--hiking with younger son, a friend, and the dogs. And I'll go out of my way to make sure I don't spend a dime at any retail establishment, certainly not at TigerDirect.
As I've said before, We are talking about a disease, NOT a marketing opportunity.
Read: About Pink Friday
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@ Jeanne Sather 2007.
I mailed out more than 100 Boycott October buttons this year, and received dozens of e-mails from breast cancer survivors and women living with breast cancer who hate pink ribbons. Many of their comments are posted to my blog. See We Hate PINK!
So far, only ONE (1) WOMAN who has had breast cancer has written to tell me that she likes pink ribbon merchandise.
The other people who like this shlock are the marketers who sell it, and a number of people who have (or had) a friend or relative with breast cancer. They seem to feel that they are doing something to help by buying pink merchandise, and they don't want to hear the facts that would pop their bubble.
Next year's Boycott October button has already been designed, by Sara, an artist, blogger, and friend of mine. Sara writes, "Anyone ever tell you [that] you wear your cancer like a badge? Well, why not actually do that? We have the technology!"
The graphic is a breast cancer cell, in black and white, and the text says, "Doesn't look much like a ribbon, does it?"
I'll have these ready to go in plenty of time for next October, so get your requests in early! In October 2008, I will be in Japan, about as far from the pink ribbon madness as I can get.
For our Cancer Bloggers Reunion here in Seattle in late July, Sara suggested making these for all the different kinds of cancer that will be represented at the reunion. So if you have lung cancer, you get a badge with a lung cancer cell, or a prostate cancer cell if that's the disease you have, and so on.
We could even get images of our very own personal cancer cells, and use those to make the buttons or pins. "This would bring home that much harder the point of not losing the individual in the greater politico-medico-marketing architecture," Sara writes.
We could also make T-shirts with our cancer cells on the front (and no drug company logos or sponsorships of any kind to clutter up the shirts, thank you very much).
The How LOW Will Komen GO? Contest
The contest was a big hit, with entries flooding in, each one worse that the last.
A couple of women sent in entries after October 31, even though they knew they had missed the deadline for this year's contest. One of these was for pink ribbon Christmas tree ornaments.
This might just be a winner--can you imagine, an entire 6-foot noble fir decked in pink ribbon baubles? That would certainly help me have a happy holiday--a huge reminder of my cancer right there in the middle of the living room.
Maybe I could find pink twinkle lights? And Breast Cancer Barbie could substitute for the angel on the top.
Save those entries for next year, ladies. The contest will be an annual event until Komen changes its fund-raising tactics. Which it shows no sign of doing.)
Worthless Junk
Several women wrote in to tell me about the piles of deeply discounted pink junk they spotted at various retailers once November 1 rolled around. Amorette even sent a photo, which I will post if I can find it in my overflowing e-mailbox. It's even more depressing to see this stuff dumped on the reject table than it is to see it on store shelves in the first place.
Next October, I'll be posting a list of "retailers to avoid" if you want to be able to do your shopping without running a gauntlet of pink merchandise to get to the checkout. The list will include: Bed, Bath & Beyond, QFC (and other Kroger grocery stores), and Lowes. Stores that ask all shoppers at the register if they would like to donate "to the cure" will get a special AVOID symbol.
Black and Blue Awareness
One reader, Karla, wrote to tell me that, in addition to being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, October is also Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
Who knew?
Karla has a brilliant idea, which I am going to adopt for October 2008:
What if someone decided that the "official colors" of domestic violence awareness were black and blue--get it, black and blue? (I understand it really is purple ... Unless you are in Toronto, where it is white.)
And what if someone decided that wearing black-and-blue ribbons, and marketing a melange of products in black and blue, with a small percentage of the profits going toward women's shelters, was the ideal way to drum up support?
What if there were catchy slogans?:
"Let's Punch Domestic Violence in the Gut."
"Let's All Work to Kick Domestic Violence."
What if Hanes held a "Wear Your Wife-Beater to Work" event in which employees were encouraged to wear T-shirts to work in return for a $5 donation to a women's shelter? Would everyone think that was funny and cute?
Same with the teddy bears and the dolls. Your Prostate Cancer Ken is brilliant for that reason--he has a teddy bear, the one thing men would never be given as a sop for a cancer diagnosis, but that people seem all too eager to throw at women who get breast cancer.
And believe it or not, one of my dear sisters gave another, the Barbie collector in the family, Breast Cancer Barbie. In MY honor (without asking me). Yeah, Breast Cancer Barbie is pretty, I'll allow that.
Because she doesn't have cancer. I wonder how pretty Domestic Violence Barbie would be, in her pretty poufy glittery black-and-blue ball gown and ribbon, with the rings around her eyes or bruises on her ribs to match?
As I said, I think this is a brilliant idea. For next October, I'm going to take every pink ribbon product I come across and remake it in black and blue, for Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Come on, Avon, jump on this bandwagon!
Read more: Boycott October
(Scroll down.)
And, just when you thought it was safe to come out of the water: Pink Friday!
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@ Jeanne Sather 2007.
Meet the members of the Breast Cancer Barbie Family:
Breast Cancer Barbie (issued by Mattel, 2006)
Every single thing that Breast Cancer Barbie wears is pale pink: gloves, gown, spangled stole, lipstick, and the tiny pink ribbon stitched to her left shoulder. The shawl wraps across her shoulders and crosses behind her back, just like the pink ribbon symbol of breast cancer awareness. The box, of course, is pink.
Prostate Cancer Ken (created by Jeanne, 2007)
I decided to make Prostate Cancer Ken because I was so pissed off last year when Mattel came out with the pink ribbon Barbie doll, the doll I call Breast Cancer Barbie.
I thought if I did a gender-reversal people would better be able to see how stupid this Barbie doll is, and how offensive it is to a woman like me.
Benign Girl, Breast Cancer Barbie's Little Sister (created by Jeanne, 2007)
Benign Girl, a Chinese Barbie knock-off, does exist.
But until I can find one, I’ve found my own Benign Girl at a second-hand store in Vancouver, B.C. Paid $2 for the little darling and she is going to join my “Wall of Shame” as Breast Cancer Barbie’s little sister.
Breast Cancer Joe (coming in October, 2008)
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@ Jeanne Sather 2007.
I noticed people jumping to my blog from Slate, so I followed the links back and found this post, by Meghan O'Rourke, Titties, Beer, and Breast Cancer.
(So now we have a nice little circular link going, my blog to Slate, Slate to my blog. Very neat.
Here's her response to my award to Jingle Jugs:
Now, the original Jingle Jugs product sounds totally ridiculous, and this "Jugs Across America" tour is juvenile at best. (Traveling Breast Museum? Please.) But the vilification of the company's breast cancer product raises some questions in my mind: Is it really all that bad for the makers of this yucky product to preach a philanthropic message to their customers, however self-serving it may be? Is this product purely a shameless attempt to win some easy PC-points? Or is it indicative of the fact that we now live in a hard-headed post-feminist age where we accept that the objectification of women will always exist, but ensure that at least now people who buy gag items like this know (or are reminded) that women aren't just objects, they're people who can get sick too? I lean toward thinking the latter. But I can imagine that if I had breast cancer I'd be grossed out.
And my response, posted to Slate:
You write "... where we accept that the objectification of women will always exist"--I guess I'm not willing to give up that battle.
Jingle Jugs has a custom-made product, apparently modeled from the customers' own breasts. I considered ordering one modeled to my one-breasted chest, to make my point, yet again: We are talking about a disease, NOT a marketing opportunity.
Maybe next year.
Jeanne
Choosing the winners in our month-long competition to find the tackiest, most trivial, most offensive pink ribbon products endorsed by the Komen Foundation wasn't easy. As readers of this blog know only too well, during October we cancer survivors have had to run the gauntlet of tacky pink crap whenever we ventured into a retail establishment. (One easy answer: Stay home. Vote with your wallet.)
However, allowing for personal biases on the part of the judge (me), some clear winners did emerge. And they are:
Grand Prize: to the blogger Dubutaunt, for her entry: Jingle Jugs for Life
Jingle Jugs sells life-size boobs, or "racks," that bounce in time to the song "Titties and Beer." Its market? Frat boys.
From the Jingle Jugs Web site: “Our newest version of Jingle Jugs comes with a pre-recorded breast cancer message. A second re-recordable chip allows the user to record a message of his or her own choice, such as a favorite song, your favorite team's fight song, a romantic message, a political commentary . . . all to which the Jugs will dance and move in synch.”
Debutaunt’s comment, in a letter to Komen: “... Honestly, I can't see in any good conscience how you can justify accepting money from this vulgar company. They sell a product that is so putrid and heinous, but are justifying it since they donate a ‘percentage’ to breast cancer organizations -- then show proudly their giant check to Komen.”
First Prize: to a Canadian reader named Nancy for: Pink Wedding Gowns for the Cure
This entry was an editorial feature in “Brides” magazine. ABC News had this quote:
"With this gown sale, we hope to harness the power of the wedding dress — an icon viewed around the world as a symbol of hope for the future — to impact the lives of seriously ill women in a positive way," said Millie Martini Bratten, editor in chief of “Brides.”
Watch the ABC News clip
Judge’s Choice Award: To the Mars/M&Ms Company for: Pink M&Ms
I have been boycotting M&Ms and all Mars candy products for more than a year, because I think the pink M&Ms trivialize a very serious disease.
This year, I turned the pink M&MS into a mosaic titled, “What I See in the Mirror Every Morning (And It Ain't Pretty).”
Support this blog:
@ Jeanne Sather 2007.
I just sent this press release on to PRWeb for distribution. Winners, please e-mail me to claim your prizes.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 30, 2007
For further information:
Jeanne Sather
jeanne.sather@gmail.com
Seattle blogger and breast cancer activist fights pink ribbons with humor
The Assertive Cancer Patient Announces Winners in the First Annual “How LOW Will Komen GO?” Contest
SEATTLE—Oct. 30, 2007—Local blogger and cancer patient Jeanne Sather has announced the winners in a contest she hopes will show just how absurd pink ribbon cause marketing, as practiced by the Komen Foundation, has become.
Entries in the contest have been posted to Sather’s blog, The Assertive Cancer Patient (www.assertivepatient.com) during the month of October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Entries, all pink-ribbon products claiming to donate a share of their profits to Komen, included pink-ribbon English muffins, pink M&Ms, pink boxer shorts (which one Arizona sheriff was reportedly requiring all inmates of his jail to wear), pink wedding gowns, and more.
The winners are:
Grand Prize: to the blogger Dubutant, for her entry: Jingle Jugs for Life
Jingle Jugs sells life-size boobs, or "racks," that bounce in time to the song "Titties and Beer." Its market? Frat boys.
From the Jingle Jugs Web site: “Our newest version of Jingle Jugs comes with a pre-recorded breast cancer message. A second re-recordable chip allows the user to record a message of his or her own choice, such as a favorite song, your favorite team's fight song, a romantic message, a political commentary . . . all to which the Jugs will dance and move in synch.” (http://www.jinglejugsforlife.com/)
Debutaunt’s comment, in a letter to Komen: “... Honestly, I can't see in any good conscience how you can justify accepting money from this vulgar company. They sell a product that is so putrid and heinous, but are justifying it since they donate a ‘percentage’ to breast cancer organizations -- then show proudly their giant check to Komen.”
First Prize: to a Canadian reader named Nancy for: Pink Wedding Gowns for the Cure
This entry was an editorial feature in “Brides” magazine. ABC News had this quote:
"With this gown sale, we hope to harness the power of the wedding dress — an icon viewed around the world as a symbol of hope for the future — to impact the lives of seriously ill women in a positive way," said Millie Martini Bratten, editor in chief of “Brides.”
Judge’s Choice Award: To the Mars/M&Ms Company for: Pink M&Ms
Sather has been boycotting M&Ms and all Mars candy products for more than a year, because she feels the pink M&Ms trivialize a very serious disease.
This year, she bought several bags of pink M&Ms and made a mosaic titled, “What I See in the Mirror Every Morning (And It Ain't Pretty).” A photo of the mosaic is posted to Sather’s blog (See http://www.assertivepatient.com/2007/10/mms-cancer-the-.html).
Sather, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1998, and now is living with metastatic disease, has been writing about pink topics this month as part of her crusade against turning breast cancer into a marketing gimmick. According to Sather, "I have finally realized why the whole pink ribbon/pink marketing thing makes me so angry: I feel exploited."
Her blog posts this month include “Prostate Cancer Ken,” a companion to "Breast Cancer Barbie," a doll released by Mattel last October, and “Benign Girl,” who is Breast Cancer Barbie’s little sister.
Also as part of her “Boycott October” campaign, Sather has been sending free buttons to anyone who asks for one. The button (which is pink) says: “Boycott October,” and in smaller type, “Don’t buy pink products. Don’t exploit women with breast cancer.”
Sather most recently made headlines in Canada and the United States, and as far away as China, for her search for a Canadian husband, and the free medical coverage that would come with such a marriage.
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