Oh dear. I just realised it’s October, aka breast cancer awareness month. A whole month of pinking up something that is neither pretty nor pink. Sigh.
Here’s what I hate about it :
- comedy references to ‘boobs’/’tits’ – neither word is relevant, both are comedic and infantilising, it’s breast cancer. Or chest cancer is preferred by some. Men get it too. Men (usually) have neither boobs nor tits. People who don’t use gender binary terms also get it. It’s medically known and treated as breast cancer. If you find it less embarrassing to say boobs or tits, then maybe look into why that is.
- social media full of secret hearts/bra colour or size memes which do nothing for actual awareness.
- cancer-anthropomorphising phrases. Fighting it, kicking it, standing up to it. It’s a disease, not a person. We deal with it better by being honest about it.
- stories of ‘brave’ ‘battles’. Gah.
If you want to do something of value, there are dozens of brilliant charities who could benefit from your money and/or your time. Go for it. Pink has nothing to do with it.
Not Writing But Blogging 
Thanks Stella! all this “pink” gets to me, every October! And now it’s breast cancer no. 2 for me, I just don’t want PINK!
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I totally agree. Tammy was diagnosed with a brain tumour and the people who haven’t disappeared out of our life because of fear and embarrassment have all been going on about how brave she is and how they don’t know how we are coping. Well what choice do we have?! And it isn’t a battle against her own body it is just something wrong that we are trying to deal with and cope with by getting through each day and by listening to the doctors xx
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yes, its not about being ‘brave’ – we’re all just doing what we can to get on. sending you both loads of love. x
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I didn’t want pink with the first one, but after two – yes, it really is too much.
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Reblogged this on The Women's Equality Party – Lewisham and commented:
I never liked the idea of fighting cancer either. We fight so many things and it’s not always the most creative or productive way to deal with problems. When my mother had cancer, we wanted to help her through it. We negotiated with it – it was always going to have the last word. I am so glad that many of my friends negotiate their way through breast cancer and I’d so much prefer if they didn’t have to.
I’m working with the Women’s Equality Party Health Group and among other things, we’re looking at why women’s illness is so often diagnosed late. The structural reasons why although women live longer, they live so often in ill-health.
So I’ll add one to Stella’s plea, get active in the positive campaign to create a society where the way we are living means that we can take time to get to a doctor in time, when we need to, ALL of us. And a society that makes it an article of certainty and principle that when we need to see one, there will be a doctor available – FREE.
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