Underwired

 

Taupe. Black. Pink. Blue. White. 


Late last week dozens of my Facebook friends began posting colors as their status updates. I was out of the loop and had no idea why. Because my mind mostly resides in Gutterville, I assumed people were posting the color of their underwear until my cousin informed me it was bra color and that it was for a good cause — to raise awareness for breast cancer. 


Soon this Facebook phenomenon snagged the media’s attention, but the publicity wasn’t all positive. Many in the blogosphere were pissed, arguing that instead of increasing awareness of the disease it only made light of it. 


A blogger at Jezebel.com had this to say:

Yesterday, however, when I came across the “post your bra color for breast cancer awareness” phenomenon, I immediately became irritated, in that the “awareness” campaign was apparently not connected to any legitimate research or awareness-raising organization, but rather to a random chain email from an unknown source that encouraged women to post their bra colors not only to raise awareness for breast cancer, but to make some sort of puzzle for men to figure out, so that they’d be out of the loop until a woman finally let them know the girls had been posting the colors of their bras… LOL forever? Cancer is so fun and hilarious, you guys. And let’s make sure it’s something only the ladies can participate in and then educate the men about, because men never get or are affected by breast cancer, right?

Tracy Clark-Flory at Broadsheet called it a “desperate attempt to get guys to simply give a crap about breast cancer by making it sexy and flirtatious, which I find not only embarrassing to women but insulting to men.”


Not everyone shares this sentiment, however. Some versions of the chain email also encouraged users to do a self-examination before posting their bra colors , which made many feel this was a positive project, after all. 


One Jezebel commenter shared this story:

I was sent this by my 17 year old sister and her friends, and I responded. They were being very responsible about it, doing it because they thought it was an important thing to be aware of, and yes! a fun way to connect to other women and get others involved. She even asked me when she should start doing self exams. I posted my bra color, because I was pretty damn proud that the young girls around me were acknowledging a big women’s health issue in a way they could easily relate to. It touched the lives of at least six of them who previously would never have given a thought about it. Powerful stuff to me. 

What do you think?