Urban Dictionary defines pinkwashing this way: The act of using breast cancer to guilt consumers into buying a product which, if it had not been for the advent of aiding the cure for cancer, they would not have bought. The "think before you pink" campaign defines it as "corporations trying to boost sales by associating their products with the fight against breast cancer. Pinkwashing is a form of slacktivism--a campaign that makes people feel like they're helping solve a problem, while they're actually doing more to boost corporate profits." An eye-opening history of the Pink Ribbon can be found here.
In the TOY department, I snapped this.
Sigh. I lived in Montana long enough to thoroughly understand the Second Amendment and the historical reasons that our right to bear arms is both protected and controversial. I am not an advocate of strict gun control measures, but this seemed a touch ridiculous.
Finally, in the Guns & Ammo department, I snapped this:
The kindly clerk even asked me if I wanted to hold it. I grinned and declined. In fact, I am a pretty good marksman, but it is solid training and practice that makes a person a good marksman. I can't imagine that a person who takes sporting seriously would EVER use such a gun. In fact, if I saw a person packing one of these, I would quickly RUN the other direction. The clerk said I would be surprised to know how many they actually sell. In the interest of full disclosure, these pink products are NOT a part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
I don't avoid pink. In fact, I am likely to appear in it during the winter months, but I am certainly not going to buy any product because of these campaigns. Our local Sunday paper was printed on pink paper. It featured ads for pink TicTacs, pink dog food, pink batteries, pink tampons, pink WetOnes, and pink "living gloves." This article provides some guidelines on surviving Breast Cancer Awareness month:
- How much money from my purchase will actually go to the cause?
- What is the maximum amount that will be donated?
- How much money was spent marketing the product I want to buy?
- What organization will get my donation, and what types of programs do they support?
- What is the product manufacturer doing to assure that its products are not contributing to causing breast cancer?
I'm wondering what ridiculous pink items my readers might have come across this month.
I've heard mixed reviews of the Komen foundation, but nonetheless I'm participating in a Zumba "Party in Pink" to fundraise a wee bit of money for them. I bought a ridiculous pink theme t-shirt because I like my zumba friends who are organizing the event and I'm willing to slide them a few $.
ReplyDeleteAside from that, I think the most effective thing I can do for cancer research is to keep voting for the guys who believe in science and who will invest in research.
this post is great
ReplyDeleteas we in Europe say "Americans are creazy" but don't take it personally ...come on ..guns and fishing equipment in PINK ...is Paris Hilton going around and shooting paparazzi in a pink rifle yet?
I hope they were no treally selling them for the Breast Cancer Cause...it's just to make you fish with your husband in a stylish way. And as regards the weapons NO COMMENT ...I'm not the weapon kind of person.
Anyway as regards my latest post ...I want to read your confessions my dear too. Everyone is free to write and let us followers know your little fashion secrets or non-fashion related .
Can't wait to read yours.
http://www.thedollsfactory.com/
Interesting points here about breast cancer pinkwashing, as well as gender-based pinkwashing.
ReplyDeleteI am mildly frustrated by breast cancer pinkwashing (and I'm glad to know the term for it now -- and to know I'm not alone in my frustration!). It can be so...tacky, in the visual sense and in the sense of general good taste and relevance. Pink Tic Tacs? Dog food? Really? Up here I've suffered pink Green Bay Packers hats for years -- petal pink baseball caps with the ugly green and gold BG logo. How much of their sales is really about breast cancer awareness, and how much of it is about boosting souvenir sales to women who want a pink accessory instead of manly white or green?
That leads me to gender pinkwashing, exemplified in the fishing rods and rifles you show. Trying to make what *should* be gender-neutral tools and gadgets more appealing to females by making them pink. I still remember a huge tool kit I saw in a Lillian Vernon catalogue -- every screwdriver, hammer, wrench rose pink, obviously to make the kit an appealing, non-scary purchase for women. I'm very sensitive to this in toys, too.
I really enjoy and love this post.
ReplyDeleteI work in an Ivy League University Bookstore, and we even have several tables set up with pink ribbon Merch. And that is all it is to us- merch. There is no cause or anything that ties us into these items other than them trying to make us buy things in the store that are supposed to help cancer research but probably barely do and make us "feel good" about buying an ugly item we never would have bought on its own.
That being said, I feel that maybe you're looking at the pink fishing rods the wrong way. While my favorite color is blue, I find irony in some pink items. The idea of standing up against an attacker with my pretty little pink pistol really amuses me. I would fish with a pink pole. I would not shoot a pink rifle, but I wouldn't really shoot a rifle. I would love a pink vespa and matching helmet and I own several toolkits both pink and non-pink. I just feel maybe trying to be pretty while wielding a wrench is funny and sweet.
@Clouds of Secrets- I know! The Eagles have pink women's hats too! (I don't like the Eagles or their logo and it looks even dumber on a pastel pink hat)
Pixie--I like the irony of pink items too. In fact, I discovered that Cabela's sold actual pink guns when I was researching 'pink guns' as accessories. I wanted a miniature water pistol.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Cynthia. Breast cancer IS serious business and it needs to involve our actual VOTES rather than the manipulated dollars generated by these campaigns.
And Sarah, I'm going to keep pondering this gendering of products. I think we've just scratched the surface here.
It's too bad the whole thing has become sort of gimmicky--I'll send my check to the Cancer Foundation, as usual.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Terri~good to know you are good with a gun--I'll keep that in mind~
Paula--you know we don't have one around. But in my twenties, I learned to be a good shot.
ReplyDeleteTerri, you beautifully expressed what I've been feeling for some time. If cancer were cured tomorrow, it would mean a loss of profit to some of these companies. I just can't get very sentimental about pink ribbons all over the place. What IS the money going to? Or whom? How is this really helping the fight against cancer? I never can figure out, Jonas Salk found a vaccine for polio in his lifetime....without a multimillion dollar foundation. Just a thought.
ReplyDeleteSerena, well said. The difference is that polio struck many children and males and females alike. If men had breasts, we might have cleaned the toxins that lead to cancer out of our environment long ago.
ReplyDeleteA thought-provoking and beautifully expressed post, Terri. This information needs to be presented occasionally, to keep sentimentality from over-ruling our logic button.
ReplyDeleteOh, thank you for this post. I'm so sick of breast cancer awareness everything. It seems that so many companies have jumped on the bandwagon because hey, it's easy to produce something pink, and it tugs at the hearstrings of females. Then all you need to do is donate 10 or 15% of profits from a vastly overpriced t-shirt and wow...
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I've read various studies about how pink everything is marketed at women. I once even found myself wanting to buy a pink razor, which cost $2 more than the blue one (I bought the blue). I don't even like pink that much. Advertising is insinuous.
This is so true, thank you for saying it out loud!! Last October I bought a can of campbell's cream of chicken soup, pink label and all. I "assumed" that some sort of donation would be made (I would've bought the soup regardless,) and was shocked to realize there was not a single thing about breast cancer on the label. I was so upset. It was obvious unethical marketing tactics at work. My mother died of breast cancer. She lost. her. life. I think there is something wrong with the slogan "save the ta-tas." It isn't about saving breasts, it's about saving lives. How many women realize this?
ReplyDeleteMy mother is a survivor, but I dislike the way the marketing cheapens the real life experiences of women. And, now, it is growing politicized as well.
DeleteThank you for running this post again. I missed it the first time, and of course, it is very timely. I'm seriously angry at the Komen foundation right now. I think what they're doing is pinkwashing of a different sort!
ReplyDeleteI've heard mixed reviews of the Komen foundation, but nonetheless I'm participating in a Zumba "Party in Pink" to fundraise a wee bit of money for them. CarlmontpharmacyI bought a ridiculous pink theme t-shirt because I like my zumba friends who are organizing the event and I'm willing to slide them a few $.
ReplyDelete