Hermenuetics

Comments

Could they have done better? Yes, of course - nothing is ever perfect...but it is a great start that could be continued.
Why don't they create (or continue) a site where stories could be told, information could be collected and when there needs to be a push of support...BAM!
Just one way of course.
-jen
@JenHarris09

Posted By: Jen Harris | January 12, 2010 3:41 PM

Until I read this post, I didn't know the "bra color thing" had anything to do with breast cancer awareness. I just thought it was a joke to see how long it would take for the guys to catch on, and I couldn't figure out why so many women I respect suddenly thought this was appropriate information to share with the public. Not wanting to appear judgemental, I didn't ask.

Maybe I'm more oblivious than most (though having had a friend die of cancer in the past month I would be inclined to think not), but it seems to me that would indicate the campaign was not as effective as it could have been.

For the sake of argument, let's say I did get it. What would that have accomplished? Is anyone in the country still "unaware" of breast cancer? Does thinking about bras make them "aware"? If so, what difference does it make? Do people really think "bras... hmmm... breast cancer... hmmm... I should make a donation"? I know I don't, and not because I don't think cancer is a terrible thing that affects the people I love.

Posted By: Jenn | January 12, 2010 3:57 PM

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Jen Harris, for your comment:

"...For the sake of argument, let's say I did get it. What would that have accomplished? Is anyone in the country still "unaware" of breast cancer? Does thinking about bras make them "aware"?..."

I have thought this for a long, long time. I donate regularly, and participate in the Race for the Cure as well. Honestly, I have yet to meet a person who is "unaware". I do wish they'd come up with something a little more hip than "...to raise awareness"

As for the bra thing. Well, I participated. I thought it was fun and knew my husband would ask me why I posted a color. Hey...so maybe...if he was unaware, he's not anymore. But wait... I'm thinking he was probably "aware" since his mother had breast cancer a few years ago. Oh well. It was still fun.

Posted By: Marianne | January 12, 2010 5:29 PM

You are writing about it (along with hundreds of others), so I would say from a marketing perspective, the campaign worked. Whether the people who posted their bra colors are doing anything about breast cancer really doesn't matter, if it is "awareness" that we are talking about (I think we get it).
As a manager of a high-end lingerie store I find it incredibly disturbing how "taboo" and "risque" buying bras and even talking about bras seems to be. What is this, 1950? Bra's are not about sexuality, they are about comfort and making a woman feel beautiful.
If people are embarrassed or ashamed about something like the color of someone's bra it makes me wonder how many women are too afraid or timid to even give themselves a breast exam let alone visit a doctor.
We are women, we have breasts, they are fabulous, we should be proud of them. Most women in the world are wearing bra's, that's no secret. Let's move forward. Women feel empowered and unembarrassed by their bra color, good for them.
As for those frat boys, why were they not escorted out of the building? I would have drug them out myself!

Posted By: Jessica | January 12, 2010 6:27 PM

I purposefully didn't post my color. My decision was based on two reasons - 1, like Jen Harris already stated, I don't think posting helped or hurt "awareness". And 2, I found it immodest.

Please don't assume that because I don't want all my male friends knowing what color my bra is, and perhaps even imagining me in it, means that I'm embarrassed or ashamed of the color of my bra. Or my breasts. Or my sexuality. I simply know that my bra, my breasts, my sexuality, etc, were intended for my husband alone. And while I'm not a man, I take their word on it that their minds can wander far too easily into risque category.

So while I am always for raising "awareness" (whatever that may mean), I am also for protecting my male friends out there from being bombarded with mental pictures that are inappropriate.

Very cute idea, but something more effective could've been done. Maybe simply putting in the number of women you know who had been effected by breast cancer? Or writing, "My aunt, my mom's best friend." That makes it more sobering, in any case.

Posted By: Emily | January 12, 2010 8:39 PM

@Jessica -- "Bras are not about sexuality." Good thing I wasn't drinking, I would've doused my laptop. Try asking a man that question, any man. Better yet, try asking a teenage boy.

I'm not thrilled that some of our church's teenage girls decided to participate in this ridiculous "activism". The last thing our teenage guys need is to be considering the color of our girls' underwear. These poor boys are inundated every day from every direction with sexual titillation. As an adult, I still struggle with being tempted by all this imagery. I can't imagine coming of age in today's hypersexed culture.

You say you manage a lingerie store. That's fascinating. It's as if your job has simply made you oblivious to all of this. I would recommend you seriously consider your perspective.

Finally, can we start spreading around our charity support, for the sake of all that is good? I think Susan G. Komen is generating quite enough cashflow. It's not that breast cancer isn't a serious issue -- my own sister is a survivor -- but there are so many more crucial, pressing issues, addressed by fabulous charity organizations. Let's give them our attention instead.

But again, I think it's the titillation factor at work. As my friend's bumper sticker reads, "Save the tatas!" Groan.

Posted By: A man's perspective | January 12, 2010 11:16 PM

I thought it was silly, so I didn't do it. Everyone knows that breast cancer exists. How could one not? I don't think the Facebook trend did any good. It might have been kind of fun for some women, though I found the parodies far more entertaining.

Posted By: Robyn | January 13, 2010 10:49 AM

It is ridiculous that this has become such a big issue.

(CT. editors: I finally have to say it: after 15 years of subscribing to your publication, this past year I've been very disappointed to see and read vacuant, gossipy, often-childish pratter...all in the name of "thoughtful, informed, journalism". More like thoughtLESS. The quality of writing has deteriorated. Also, it seems that the target audience is now for a less theologically/Biblically-literate audience: am I correct??)

Posted By: ladylorraine | January 13, 2010 6:29 PM

ladylorraine,
Thanks for engaging with us. We are trying to start discussions about every day matters. We hope you can join us.

Posted By: Sarah Pulliam Bailey | January 15, 2010 10:48 AM

Sorry, 'a man's perspective', but I'm pretty sure the breast-cancer awareness campaign is not about males. We don't need to dumb everything down to the level of a teenage boy.

And, Emily, if your male friends are such delicate flowers that the word "beige" will send them into uncontrollable convulsions of lust, then perhaps the poor dears ought to stay off the Internet entirely. And be sure to remove the letters 'b', 'r' and 'a' from their keyboards.

Posted By: barron | January 16, 2010 12:10 AM

I had to google "colors as status on facebook" to discover why my friends had suddenly begun posting colors as their status. I chose not to join in as it only seemed to be a frivolous way to diminish the tragedy of the disease rather than raise awareness. Many of the posts had comments such as "LOL" and men responded by posting the color of their underwear, complete with cartoon characters. Among my facebook friends, it was just a funny thing to do. I remembered my dear friend, Nancy, who passed away last summer after a long and grueling 10+ year battle with breast cancer. Posting a color would not honor her life and all the suffering she endured in the last year.

Posted By: Cheryl | January 20, 2010 1:04 PM

Barron - I'm concerned for my male friends, it's a good thing. I don't think the question is about how far can I go before I'm being immodest (or sinning or whatever). So, as you sarcastically put it, protecting them from "uncontrollable convulsions of lust" was not my intent. Protecting them from mental images, fleeting as they may be, was my intent.

When love for others is offensive, then Jesus' message is null and void.

Posted By: Emily | February 8, 2010 9:10 PM

Everyone has made great points in this discussion, so much so that I don't have much to add. I have to pass on my sympathy to Cheryl at the loss of her good friend.

I didn't do it because I use my FB account mainly for professional purposes (I'm a writer) and therefore I didn't think it would be appropriate for me to advertise my bra color.

Honestly, I thought it was a strange way to raise breast cancer awareness, given the seemingly flippant nature of the posts versus the serious nature of this disease.

Posted By: Laura Droege | April 5, 2010 1:41 PM