Curmudgeons for the Cure

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I seem to have embarked on a series of posts on the potentially hurtful symbolism and messages in “awareness” campaigns. The other day, I criticized the “Save the Boobs” commercial funded by the charity Rethink Breast Cancer. Today I’m in a similar groove, questioning the concept behind the Blogger Boobie-Thon.

Lest I be misunderstood: I should repeat that I’m all in favor of raising funds for fighting breast cancer (though I’d pick a less “establishment” cause than the Komen program to subsidize). I have no doubt that the creators of this site have the best of intentions; one of them is a very young survivor of the disease, and I think it’s cool that she took action. I’m also a big fan of enjoying breasts, whether your own or others’. And yet, I have some qualms.

The concept behind the Boobie-Thon is that women (and a few men) post pictures of their breasts at the Boobie-Thon site. The viewer may simply donate money at the site, or he/she may pay money to see some of the clothed breasts unwrapped. As a quick glance at the gallery shows, the breasts pictured are mostly larger than average, usually wrapped in a pretty bra, and generally don’t show any scars. There are a few exceptions to that last point, but they are exceptions that prove the rule. They do look like the natural, fleshy breasts of real women, many of them past the first flush of youth. These aren’t the silicone globes in porn or the photoshopped cleavages in magazines, and that’s very nice to see.

The survivors’ page, by contrast, shows more faces than breasts. It’s almost as though we’re reinforcing the idea that if your body isn’t perfect, you just need to rely on your “personality.” One survivor did post an evocative picture of her unreconstructed breast. It’s an indictment of the shame and stigma that still surrounds mastectomy that many of us (myself included) will look at such a photo and think: Gosh, she was brave to post this. It’s also a lovely photo that just might help some of us start to transcend the shame.

I understand the urge to put the “fun” into fundraising. I’m all for celebrating breasts. And yet, the contrasts between the two different sections of the site underscore the injury to one’s sex appeal, body image, and perhaps even sense of self that breast cancer treatment can inflict. The portraits of survivors are often radiant and beautiful, but they’re not framed as sexy. Isn’t there’s an element of cruelty whenever a fundraising campaign uses mostly sexualized images of healthy breasts to “sell” breast cancer as a cause?

At the risk of sounding like a scold, I also take issue with the objectification that I see in the gallery of healthy breasts. I’m not shocked or offended. I don’t think there’s anything inherently wrong with taking scantily-clad pictures of oneself, or posting those photos on the intertubes.

But I do see the usual gendered asymmetry that attends most displays of female flesh. What would be the male counterpart? When men start posting full-frontal nude photos to tempt donors in supporting prostate or testicular cancer, then I’ll drop my concerns about the objectification of women in breast cancer fund-drives.

If you don’t share my qualms, though, by all means go to the Boobie-Thon and make your donation. The deadline is 11:59 p.m. Eastern on October 7.

Update, 10/7/09, 12:30 p.m.: Uff da! Only after I hit publish did I see this post as Shakesville, featuring a poster for a breast cancer fundraiser with graveyard graphics. Deeky points out the tendency to love boobies, as compared to whole women. Also, you’ve gotta see that poster.