It's all over the media, campaigns, the market. Our friends have probably said it, organizations have probably protested it, you have probably seen it. "Save The Boobies" is a slogan that is used to bring breast cancer awareness to the public. It provides a strong message about destroying the idea that talking about breast cancer is a taboo topic, and of course it catches the public eye. Although the slogans, campaigns, and charities all have a very good intention with "Save The Boobies", it takes away from the fact that our goal is to save our women.
As we know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Breast cancer affects 1 in 8 women and 1 in 1000 men. This means anyone in your circle, including you could get breast cancer. It's important that we recognize the symptoms for early detection. However when we discuss this, it's not only about early detection to prevent mastectomy, but about early detection to save our loved ones regardless of their state. Of course, most women are very relieved to learn that getting a mastectomy means being cancer-free, so the last thing they want to do keep is their boobies.
In efforts to educate the public on the importance of beauty within, Hairless 4 Her Awareness, Inc launched the campaign "Save The Women Not The Boobies®”. It focuses on women, their struggles, their own personal beauty, and most importantly their first hand experience between choosing life or facing possible death.
This campaign is not trying to derail any other movement or campaign regarding 'save the boobies', it simply chooses to shed light on another harsh reality of breast cancer. This does not mean it's selfish for anyone to want to save theirs, and it certainly does not mean we don't want to save the boobies, but as I previously mentioned, it's not a priority to a lot of women in the process.
A tactic used in marketing always gears towards what people love..."the ta-tas, the boobies" whatever attracts more people. The reason this works, is because many people love to make others believe that they're not women unless they have the anatomy to go with it; or as Dan Neil in a 2009 L.A. Times Column put it, "This ad -- and a couple more like it -- represent one of the few occasions when the male tendency to objectify the female body is put to good use.." Because suddenly many believe they're not worthy, they're not proper mothers, proper women without their "boobies".
Ultimately, women deserve more than to be recognized for a "cute" campaign regarding their anatomy when it's their life at risk. Regardless if it's a sexist effort or not.
