Racy for the Cure? - Opinions mixed on using suggestive slogans, images to fight breast cancer
BY Heather Warlick-Moore
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Published: October 29, 2009
A woman in a skimpy white bikini sashays next to a swimming pool. Onlookers gawk, men’s tongues roll, and music blares in the background.
The camera zooms in slow motion to the woman’s jiggling chest as a message spreads across the screen: "You know you like them/Now it’s time to save the boobs.”
This photo released by Save the Ta-tas shows one of their hats, left. - AP Photo
This photo released by Save the Ta- tas shows one of their t-shirts, right. - AP Photo
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"The way I’ve always seen it is that these people are out there, and either they’re a survivor or they’re supporting a survivor, and that’s the way they’re choosing to deal with the disease."
Lorna Palmer
Komen Society executive director
Breast cancer resources listed
→Rethink Breast Cancer: http://rethinkbreastcancer.com.
→Save the Ta-tas: http://savethetatas.com.
→Susan G. Komen for the Cure: http://ww5.komen.org.
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10/29/2009 This year’s Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Oklahoma City raised more than $250,000 for breast cancer research. And the foundation is still raising...
It may resemble a beer commercial, but it’s really a public service announcement for
Toronto’s annual Boobyball party to benefit the charity Rethink Breast Cancer. And it’s gone viral, with more than 650,000 hits on
YouTube. It’s just one of the edgier ways awareness is being promoted among younger women during National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
At the
Oklahoma City Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, teams with racy names such as "Save Second Base,” "Boob-a-licious,” "Dre’s Double Delights,” "I Love Boobies” and "YaYa for the TaTas” ran alongside more than 575 other, more traditionally named teams.
Sure, some people called the
Oklahoma chapter of the Komen society to complain about the sexy sounding names, said
Executive Director Lorna Palmer, but she’s just glad the young, sassy teams are participating.
"The way I’ve always seen it is that these people are out there, and either they’re a survivor or they’re supporting a survivor, and that’s the way they’re choosing to deal with the disease,” Palmer said.
But is the television commercial with the leggy brunette with bouncing breasts going too far?
"Generally, with people my age who watch
MTV, there’s no association between the breast and breast cancer. They think the boobs in beer commercials are different,” said MTV News
Canada host Aliya-Jasmine Sovani, 27, who stars as the bikini-clad gal and wrote and co-directed the clip.
"But everyone uses sexy imagery for commercials,” Sovani said. "I thought guys would watch it because they would watch it naturally, and girls would like the humor and irony. … We all like boobs, we all celebrate boobs, so let’s save the boobs.”
Charisse Brown, a
University of Central Oklahoma student, agrees.
"I think that it is a good way to promote to get a man’s attention,” she said. But, the advertising might turn off older, more conservative women, she said.
The feisty team names at the Oklahoma City race were one way to attract awareness to a young audience. A similar method shows up in "Save the Ta-tas,” a T-shirt line started by
Julia Fikse, a 37-year-old fashion designer.
Her Southern California company now has 12 full-time employees producing T-shirts that proclaim "caught you lookin’ at my ta-tas” and "I love my big ta-tas.” Five percent of every sale goes to breast cancer research and awareness. About $340,000 has been donated so far, Fikse said.
"We (Susan G. Komen for the Cure) have a very strong stance on not sexualizing and objectifying women to get the point across,” Palmer said. "But that being said, we also understand that in order to appeal to a younger audience, that sometimes this type of messaging is effective. If that message works for them, then it’s a great way to get them engaged in the cause.”
The shock factor that comes with Fikse’s T-shirts and Sovani’s commercials may be just what young women (and men) need to put breast cancer on their radar, Palmer said. There’s just something about "Generation Y” that demands more "in your face” information.
"I think that even when you’re watching Super Bowl commercials, it’s the ones that are somewhat shocking will be the ones that will stick in your mind,” she said.
While brainstorming her T-shirts, Fikse got a list together of 10 slang words for breasts and bounced the names off her husband. He laughed at the word "ta-tas,” and it stuck, she said.
Men’s involvement, Fikse said, was paramount. Her company has T-shirts for men with slogans "My girl has great ta-tas” and "Save a life, grope your wife.”
"Men have an ability to take it into a sexual place very fast,” Fikse said. "But you can turn an awkward, sexual conversation into something awesome about breast cancer awareness.”
Contributing: Associated Press
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There may be other wastes involved but marketing in the Internet age can be done very cheaply.
Actually, that's not bad. If anyone makes that shirt, I want a cut.