Some of you may have guessed just by reading the title of this post what it’s going to be about. If you’re not on Facebook (and why aren’t you?! The rest of the world is already there…) I’ll bring you up to speed.
Last week, a Facebook message went around between thousands of women asking them to post their bra color in their Facebook status. I noticed a bunch of statuses popping up in my feed simply saying “white,” “beige,” etc. After seeing a bunch of different statuses like that with no explanation, I explored and discovered what it was all about. Needless to say, it was more than a little awkward.
I didn’t think much about it afterward until I ran across this article from Boundless Line. I thought it made a really good point that I’m sure many women who participated in the campaign didn’t even consider:
It happened last night. A Facebook friend sent me a message asking me to post the color of my bra as my Facebook status. She said it was for “breast cancer awareness,” and that women everywhere were doing it. She finished by saying something like, “Won’t it be funny to have all our guy friends eventually wonder why we have colors listed as our statuses?”
Um, actually I can think of funnier things. But that’s probably not the point. I’m all for breast cancer awareness. And female solidarity is fun. And bras are totally useful. Not to mention they come in a multitude of colors and patterns; I saw one with skulls the other day … just sayin’.
But when I received my friend’s message last night, I immediately thought two things:
1) This campaign was probably started not by altruistic cancer-warriors, but by a pervy teenage boy.
2) It would take men everywhere about 1.5 minutes or less to figure out what this is about and unwittingly become privy to the underwear choices of the ladies in their lives. Let’s see … what guy friends do I have on Facebook? Boundless listeners and readers for sure. Friends from church. Coworkers and colleagues. My brother. My boss. My PASTOR.
I decided pretty quickly that none of these dudes need to know what color bra I’m wearing. Ever.
EVER.
They certainly don’t need to be picturing me in said bra. And they don’t need to be fighting against the urge to do so. What are we thinking, ladies?! “Hey girls, let’s kick off 2010 by putting inappropriate images in men’s minds in the name of a wonderful cause!”…
By Lisa Anderson. Read the rest here.
I throw this out there merely as food for thought. What do you think? Share your thoughts below.
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Thank you for posting this. I agree with you 100%! I think that sometimes women don't fully think things through and consider how men's minds actually work.
Normally I'm all for pushing the line but even I thought it was a little bit much to be putting my bra color out there, add into the equation that half the church is reading it, my family and co-workers. Nothing like having my boss know that while i was at work on said day he now knows what color bra I had on.
and yet i thought of my dear friend who recently lost her battle, and think how much she probably would have liked the campaign
Started by a teenage boy? If he’s on Facebook, he can find something more sordid than bra colors.
TMI to male friends? The conversations this started between my daughters and I are much more valuable than keeping that little secret.
As an “awareness tool” it worked. Now we just have to be sure that we and our friends act on it.
I have to admit that when I read it I thought we were just putting A COLOR out there… so you see, I just said a color but was not interpreting it correctly.. anyway, it's just a strap but I might not have done it if I really read it… called reading between the lines and once saw the purpose jumped on board… ?????? so aunt Beth, I wondered your note? what did the initials stand for and was in in reply to that? :O) love you!
Having had a lump at the age of 39, luckily not cancer, I tend to view these things a little differently. I believe we have to keep the awareness up and laugh. If we don’t laugh we cry and I did enough of that at the time. The laughing got me thru the machines and needles and surgery.
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I like to believe the men in my life are bigger than that. I have faith in human nature no matter how naive that my seem to some.[My gift was faith by the way when I took the test, #2 for me
I wish people would be not too judgemental and it did spark great conversations for us too Sue!
I agree with Sue. As far as breast cancer awareness campaigns go, this is quite mild. I’m a student at GVSU and let’s just say… college boys can be MUCH more “creative” when it comes to slogans and campaign propaganda.
I think that it would be inappropriate if there was more information than merely color, but the color alone seems harmless. I see the argument from the other side, it seems that it can border on something that is too private. But where is the line? Is the word “breast” in breast cancer awareness too sexual? No. I think that it’s a matter of maturity. If I had participated in this, I probably would have included a link to a website for the cause, but that’s just me.
I think that it’s a good way to get women thinking about something we can all face, and remind everyone that it’s important to stay on top of your health.
Beige! And I'm so glad to be alive to wear it! As a survivor I encourage all women and MEN (men can get breast cancer, too!) to do what it takes to prevent this aweful disease. I am much more concerned about images on MTV, or even the news lately… than some color mentioned. Unconventional, perhaps, but worth it to save the lives underneath that "color".