Our house is becoming overrun with awareness bracelets.
Here are just a few that I randomly picked up as I walked through two rooms.
I wasn’t quite prepared for the one that was included in a bulk package a few weeks ago. It was black with pink lettering, and it used a baseball reference to promote awareness for a common women’s cancer. I stuck it in my pocket, and mulled it over for a little while.
I asked some friends what they thought. The general consensus was that it was kind of cute, and maybe even funny. Still.. in my opinion, this was not really appropriate for a young boy to be sporting on his wrist. Why was it in a bag of kids’ bracelets?
If it had been stamped with a simple symbol like this:
I also thought it was strange since the rest of the sayings were silly things like “way out” and “cool”.
The more I thought it over, the more it bugged me. First and foremost, children are nonchalantly being introduced to terminology that is not really suitable or useful. Additionally, the message (for those who do understand it) encourages them to focus on the body parts, and not the person.
I can only speak for myself, obviously, and I have had several mammograms that required follow up procedures. The days spent waiting for the next step and contemplating outcomes are long. With nothing to do but think, I soon realized that I would sacrifice “second base” if meant saving the stadium.
As a mother of sons, I sometimes feel that I am tilting at windmills. I teach my boys the importance of chivalry and respect, and then at every turn the media is objectifying women, or we see women devaluing themselves. My work is cut out for me, that’s for certain.
So there I was, looking at the ridiculous bracelet, thinking of several others I have seen for the same cause, and contrasting them against a similar male issue.
All this thinking also made me wonder why the pink ribbon gets the lion’s share of the attention.
I’m certainly not inclined to tell people how to donate their money, time, or awareness efforts, but I do believe that our breast obsessed culture tends to neglect so many other cancers. In recent years I have seen women fight long and arduous battles against ovarian, pancreatic, brain, and lung cancers, as well as cancers of the blood and lymphatic system. Yet, I don’t see nearly as much teal or purple, nor do I see slogans like “adore the ovary”, or “long live the lung”. (although I’m not complaining about that!!) I hate ALL cancer and hope to see every bit of it eradicated in my lifetime.
So, how did our story end? Well, my boys don’t have any pink bracelets. I didn’t even bring it up. I chose the yellow one, instead. I asked them if they knew why they were wearing it it. Since they didn’t, I explained that it was to show that we donate to a charity that raises money for a specific type of cancer. I kept it pretty generic. I went through a few more. Some they knew, some they didn’t. We decided that they shouldn’t be wearing anything unless they knew what they were supporting. I asked them to imagine how they would feel if a bracelet they were unsure of promoted something they didn’t believe in. I made up some silly examples, and some more serious.
I believe they have a new and more compassionate awareness for ALL cancers. I revealed to them the names of people we know who are survivors, and what they have been though. I also told them stories of some of the brave and amazing people that the world has lost. Famous people like Steve Jobs, Randy Pausch, Patrick Swayze, and Michael Landon, as well as people we know personally who have lost loved ones.
Hopefully, they have also learned that it will take more than an arm full of bracelets or magnets on our cars to wipe out cancer for good. I believe they have a more compassionate understanding about how these diseases can devastate families, and that silly slogans aren’t really appropriate when dealing with something so serious.
