As we approach the month of Pinktober (with 30 days advance notice), it is time for all of us to raise our hands and pledge the following. Please join in.
Raise your right hand and repeat after me:
I (state your name [and not the Animal House version]) promise that during the month of Pinktober, formerly known as October, I will not arbitrarily purchase pink items or donate to pink causes with out first researching how much actually goes to breast cancer research or screening services.
I will first research them using services such as Charity Navigator (www.charitynavigator.org) to ensure they are legitimate.
I also promise that I will not support pinkification efforts to paint things pink, light up buildings in pink, or other such activities.
Thank you.
We need to focus our efforts on research and screening services for under served populations. We do not need any more awareness. The American public is plenty aware of breast cancer at this point.
Between now and then September is Prostate Cancer, Childhood Cancer, Thyroid Cancer, Leukemia and Lymphoma, and Ovarian Cancer month. It also contains the Jewish holy days of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. Those all seem to be overshadowed by the looming Pinkification of October.
In October, there are other lovely holidays to support. Halloween for one - the one where we dress in costume and eat lots of candy, never mind Columbus Day and a host of other minor celebrations.
November includes many events including Veterans Day and Thanksgiving but it in recent years the squabbling that has resulted from Pinktober overwhelms everything until Thanksgiving. It also includes the great American Smokeout, Lung Cancer Awarness and Pancreatic Cancer awareness month.
What I am trying to say is stop supporting on pinkification and focus on research and screening for underserved populations.
Showing posts with label pink washing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pink washing. Show all posts
Outrage against the pink machine
I finally watched Pink Ribbons Inc - a Canadian made documentary about breast cancer as the poster child of cause related marketing. (My apologies to AnneMarie over at Chemobrain Fog for taking so long to get to it but now I will pass it along to others.) My single thought on the film:
- how can they 'use' such a nasty disease to their benefit? The 'they' here are corporations who claim they are doing good but really are just using it are a marketing promotion. Here are a few quotes that stuck with me:
- one woman with stage IV breast cancer said there is 'no integrity' in this pinkification on where the dollars go. Companies make the money but how much really goes to the cure, who oversees the research to make sure they are a group effort in working towards something real instead of just dabbling at it in different parts of the world.
- Nancy Brinker really got me with this one. She said "until there is a cure, there is not enough pink." Oh, please. You just like wearing pink suits with yourdebutante Junior League hair style. We aren't talking about a paint color here. Its a real disease and you can't sugarcoat with some pink and make it cute. By focusing on the color pink you are ignoring the impact of the disease on women's and their families' lives. There is nothing pretty and pink about breast cancer.
I do like the advice that if you have breast cancer you should do something besides worry. Trust me I know this one well. Sitting around and stewing about your health - one ailment or 1000 ailments, does not help you at all. Going for a walk or a run to get in shape will help distract you and might even help your health and if the goal of a pinkified event will help you is fine if it works for you. But you could just send in a check and go for a daily walk with a friend or two and not be part of the pink machine.
My personal goal now is to avoid the pink machine as much as possible in my life.
Find a copy of Pink Ribbons Inc. You can buy it at Amazon now. You might even be able to take it out of your library. Have some friends over and be prepared to be outraged.
OUTRAGE
- how can they 'use' such a nasty disease to their benefit? The 'they' here are corporations who claim they are doing good but really are just using it are a marketing promotion. Here are a few quotes that stuck with me:
- one woman with stage IV breast cancer said there is 'no integrity' in this pinkification on where the dollars go. Companies make the money but how much really goes to the cure, who oversees the research to make sure they are a group effort in working towards something real instead of just dabbling at it in different parts of the world.
- Nancy Brinker really got me with this one. She said "until there is a cure, there is not enough pink." Oh, please. You just like wearing pink suits with your
I do like the advice that if you have breast cancer you should do something besides worry. Trust me I know this one well. Sitting around and stewing about your health - one ailment or 1000 ailments, does not help you at all. Going for a walk or a run to get in shape will help distract you and might even help your health and if the goal of a pinkified event will help you is fine if it works for you. But you could just send in a check and go for a daily walk with a friend or two and not be part of the pink machine.
My personal goal now is to avoid the pink machine as much as possible in my life.
Find a copy of Pink Ribbons Inc. You can buy it at Amazon now. You might even be able to take it out of your library. Have some friends over and be prepared to be outraged.
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