But then, favoring diversity, I also like it on the kitchen counter, leaning against the quilt stand, or even on my desk at work.
Say what?
Well, if you are a Facebook user then you’re probably familiar with this particular breast cancer awareness campaign. An e-mail (I’m not sure where it started, though some outlets are reporting it was a grassroots effort) circulated a few weeks ago suggesting women post messages on Facebook saying where they like to put their purses when they get home.
Last year’s Facebook awareness campaign asked women to post the color of their favorite bra. These campaigns use sexually suggestive one-liners to capture attention (especially of men) to start a conversation that ultimately leads them to learn more about breast cancer.
Does it work?
Well, the campaigns did go viral, as many news outlets reported. This coverage, in turn, provided more publicity for breast cancer prevention and treatment. While people debate whether this technique is a wise one to use in raising awareness, I have to laugh. How long has the advertising community used the old adage “sex sells” to promote products? This little bitty sentence with its hint of naughtiness has circled the globe, and more people are talking about breast cancer than they were the day before.
But is it the right thing to use a potentially naughty thought trigger to grab attention for an important issue such as breast cancer?
Promotions like this can do some good. From personal experience — my own gentleman friend told me the campaign was the buzz of his office and that most male colleagues knew it was related to breast cancer after hearing about it from their partners or co-workers. That was right before he paused and asked if I had scheduled my regular mammogram. He knows my sister’s story and never wanted to ask about what he considered a sensitive subject. Score!
Now don’t get me wrong!
I don’t condone using sex as a sales tool. Sexual marketing portrays women as objects. And how many women have developed low self-esteem because of the constant expectation to look like models on TV or in magazines — many to the point of making themselves ill or even committing suicide? See some stats about these effects at Melissa Wardy’s blog: 54 percent of women would rather be hit by a truck than be fat, and 67 percent of women would rather be mean or stupid than be fat.
What can we do to publicize breast cancer issues without falling into this trap?
For now, spread the awareness in any manner you feel comfortable. After all, October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Learn as much as you can for your own health as well as others’. Did you know that men can suffer from breast cancer too?
AAUW Dialog 
I am one of the people who intensely disliked both of these campaigns, but you have convinced me that the second did do some good, so thank you for that!
As a 26 year old male I thought both attempts were unsuccessful. The first one just made me wonder what the colors were till someone told me and then I did not care. But I know that women were getting messages sent to them and I heard that some of the breast cancer awareness sites had a spike in web traffic around the time it went viral. The second attempt to me was shallow. Most of the time it just became a place for people to make jokes. At least the colors were able to tie into breast cancer awareness. This just seemed like a pathetic attempt at a joke.