I want to get your thoughts on this one. I am all for fighting cancer. October was National Breast Cancer Awareness month BUT I have a few things that I am wondering about the “I love boobies” campaign.
In case you live in a closet and you have not seen the t-shirts and the bracelets, let me catch you up to speed.
The Keep A Breast Foundation’s mission is to help eradicate breast cancer by exposing young people to methods of prevention, early detection and support. Through art events, educational programs and fundraising efforts, we seek to increase breast cancer awareness among young people so they are better equipped to make choices and develop habits that will benefit their long-term health and well-being.
The purpose of Keep A Breast’s “I Love Boobies!” Campaign is to speak to young people in their own voice about a subject that is often scary and taboo. Our t-shirts and bracelets act as an awareness-raising tool that speaks directly to our target audience in a way that is authentic, inspiring and refreshing. When breast cancer hits a family, all involved are impacted. Pink ribbons might not resonate with some youth as passionately as a foundation that works with artists, athletes, celebrities, and musicians that young people look up to. The Keep A Breast Traveling education booth goes to venues like music festivals, surf and skate contests to educate young people on their own turf.
Keep A Breast believes the best way to reach, educate and impact people is by speaking to them in a voice they can relate to. Through doing so, we fill an important gap not currently being addressed by other breast cancer awareness organizations. For all of these reasons, Keep A Breast Foundation feels strongly that “boobies” is not a four-letter word. We have an amazing Board of Directors and Advisory Board, many of whom are survivors, that we pass all of our messaging through before we release it to the public. Our board, and people across the globe, including breast cancer survivors whom have been impacted by breast cancer tell us our messaging is refreshing in a sea of pink ribbons as we take a positive approach to breast cancer awareness based on prevention and education. We encourage people to use the bracelets as an opportunity to start a conversation about breast cancer prevention, body image, early detection, and the importance of living a healthy lifestyle.
Keep A Breast and its “I Love Boobies” Campaign is the proud recipient of many prestigious national honors and awards:
- Yoplait Champion Award to Shaney jo Darden, Executive Director
- Alternative Press, 25 most influential people in the music industry, Award to Shaney jo Darden, Executive Director
- Glue Network Beneficiary
- The SIMA Humanitarian Fund Award Recipient
- Emergen-C “pink lemonade” Beneficiary
- The Quiksilver Foundation, International Breast Cancer Initiative
- The “My Space Impact Award” for Health and Safety
So, they are doing an amazing thing. I am all for raising awareness about breast cancer. I am all for this cause but re-read this…
The purpose of Keep A Breast’s “I Love Boobies!” Campaign is to speak to young people in their own voice.
When you speak to teenagers in their language or their voice, I think you loose something. My neighbor who is 10 has a bracelet and I asked him about it and he said all the boys at school had them and it is cool. If, I let my kid where a bracelet that said “boobies” on it I would want to make sure he was aware of what it meant.
The average age kids see porn online is 11. One of the most searched for terms on google for kids under 18 is “boobs”. The folks at the breast cancer foundation I am sure know this so they are incredibly brilliant for coming up with this campaign. The campaign is brilliant. That does not mean I like it. They are speaking to kids in kids language but I don’t know if kids then can speak at all about this topic or they just like something on their shirt or hand that has “boobies” on it.
What do you think? The campaign is marketed towards kids. Love it? Hate it? I am just asking.