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HWN Suggests

The Hunt for (More Than) Pinktober

When I was a teenager, my Nana, my dad’s mother, was diagnosed with breast cancer. It must have been around Christmas because, at the extended family gift swap, all the girls in the family were given pink jewelry to wear. I don’t remember whose idea it was. I got this heart-shaped rose quartz pendant on a silver chain, and I remember thinking it didn’t really look like a heart, it was too bulbous. The thought hit me before I could slow it down: I tried to stop myself from realizing it looked like a tumor, or, at least, that I thought it did. I was a morbid kid, but I wasn't far off from right.

I said thank you. I put it around my neck and…

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Featured

 Breast Cancer Is Serious. Pink Is Not.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and I have breast cancer. The country is fully pinked out in support of breast cancer screening and research, and though I know all the pink is meant to make me feel good, to tell me that the entire country has my back, I actually find it profoundly alienating. Pink is not a serious color, though cancer is a very serious disease. Pink is about femininity; cancer is about staying alive.

 In honor of breast cancer awareness month: 11 things not to say to women who’ve had breast cancer

For those of us who have had breast cancer, October can feel irritating, silly, insensitive, and often like a 31-day long trigger.

 Reasons to Avoid Pinktober

Over the past decade there has been a huge swell in marketing efforts to raise awareness for breast cancer in the month of October. The month-long celebration comes with a hefty dose of pink to promote the cause. “Pinktober” has become so pervasive that everyone from the NFL, to major airline carriers, to food brands are on board to push the pink. But there are a growing number of people who avidly refute that promoting breast cancer awareness in this way is good for anyone’s health. Some contend that it is a malicious marketing ploy that takes advantage of scared women, lines the pockets of senior administration at charities, and doesn’t actually seek a cure for breast cancer. Here are some of the reasons to avoid Pinktober.

Articles of Interest

Does Breast Cancer Awareness Month Crowd Out Other Diseases Affecting Women?

October can be lonely for those of us who’ve lost someone to cancer that doesn’t merit a pink ribbon. Ever since my mother died of colorectal cancer 15 years ago, I’ve felt uneasy about this month. Any cancer diagnosis means joining a club you’d rather not be a member of, but some clubs are better organized than others, and breast cancer is one of the best.

It’s Pinktober Again. Are Our Breasts Benefiting?

Pinkwasher: A company or organization that claims to care about breast cancer by promoting a pink ribbon product, but at the same time produces, manufactures and/or sells products that are linked to the disease - Think Before You Pink

'Pinktober': What Breast Cancer Awareness Month means to patients

Some see it as invaluable for education and advocacy while others, including male breast cancer patients, may feel left out

A Growing Disenchantment With October ‘Pinkification’

But many women with breast cancer hate the spectacle. “I call it the puke campaign,” said Marlene McCarthy, the director of the Rhode Island Breast Cancer Coalition, who has metastatic breast cancer.

A Powerful Pinktober—Not Stopping Until Our Work Is Done!

This Pinktober, you helped expose the American Cancer Society and the Personal Care Products Council as pinkwashers for giving cancer patients toxic cosmetics. Your powerful voices, actions and stories said loud and clear that “Poison Isn’t Pretty” and you revealed the truth about their hallmark Look Good, Feel Better® program.

Breast Cancer Awareness month has devolved into crass materialism

What began as a desperately needed effort to raise awareness about women's health has been co-opted by corporate marketers

Cancer patients share thoughts on awareness, Pinktober

A common sentiment: 'Pink is a color, not a cure. We need research, not ribbons.'

Pink October’s Predecessor

Before there was breast cancer awareness, there was tuberculosis advocacy. It was a lot more effective.

The End Of Pinktober

Though the fear has not disappeared, “cancer” is no longer the unutterable word. The cheerfulness with which the subject has been embraced and shouted is almost macabre.

The Problem with National Breast Cancer Awareness Month

You might think that breast health advocates and women who’ve had breast cancer would eagerly await the pink ribbon movement each October. You’d be wrong.

Why #Pinktober consumerism makes this breast cancer survivor uneasy

If 'awareness' is spending $1,000 on a pair of pink shoes, count me out. What I care about is the actual women with cancer

Resources

5 Ways Your Social Good Initiatives Can Compete With 'Pinktober' This Year

Love or loathe “pinktober," companies and causes working at the intersection of profit and purpose can draw valuable lessons from this and other groups that have built cause connections to a day, week or month