Susan G. Komen

It’s breast cancer awareness month again: Rite-Aid is selling pink TicTacs, rosé is on sale at Whole Foods, and Sephora is hawking a “Breast Cancer Awareness Makeup Palette.”

If you’re suffering from awareness overload, you’re not alone. 

When it comes to breast cancer, we’re inundated with what health studies professor Samantha King calls a “tyranny of cheerfulness.” Rather than addressing the more complex issues of inadequate health insurance, environmental pollution, and stalled research, the public face of breast cancer advocacy veers toward to what Barbara Ehrenreich calls “the breast cancer cult,” an ultra-feminine, consumer-driven approach drenched in sentimentality and good cheer.

The ubiquitous pink ribbon often overshadows the actual achievements of breast cancer organizations.

You may recall former Susan G. Komen executive Karen Handel from from Komen's grossly mishandled defunding and refunding of Planned Parenthood earlier this year. Well, Handel may have lost her job at Komen, but she's gained a book deal. The title of her upcoming tome? Planned Bullyhood.

• How genuine is the Susan G. Komen backtracking and apology? Here are a few excellent links on recent developments.
• Check out this Feminist Wire article on the intersections and manipulations of anti-Palestinian occupation protestors and LGBTQ protestors by the Israeli government.
• Transgriot has a report on awful transphobic actions going on at a Tennesse retail store.
• n+1 posted a nice history of ladyblog sites, from Jezebel to Rookie (where does Bitch fit in all of this? We're not really a "ladyblog," right?).
• If you're having trouble following the fight over trans inclusion in the Girl Scouts, read this neat Mother Jones recap of the whole debacle.
• On Comment is free, s.e. smith tells Rick Santorum why all disabled people deserve the care his daughter receives.
• At the Border House, Apple Cider Mage discusses sporting a "slut plate."
• Obama announces theme of this year's Black History Month is "Black Women in American Culture and History."

Tell us what you've been reading in the comments!

By now, chances are you've seen the news that the Susan G. Komen Foundation defunded its support of Planned Parenthood, which it had established in 2005. Pressure for the foundation to stop the support began almost immediately, and the national Susan G. Komen board resisted this pressure until yesterday. I spoke with Gina Popovic, Executive Vice President of the Planned Parenthood of Greater Washington and North Idaho, who stressed that Komen is not the bad actor in all of this, the anti-choice activists are.

Perhaps you have heard of KFC's "Buckets for the Cure" campaign. The idea is, every time you buy a pink bucket of fried chicken from the chain, 50 cents is donated to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation for breast cancer research. Now, raising money for cancer research of any kind is great, but I can't help but think (and I am by no means alone here) that this campaign is misguided and misleading (not to mention the weird irony of buying – and eating – certain breasts to save others). Of course, tying an advertising campaign to the fight against breast cancer, a practice commonly known as pinkwashing, is nothing new. Let's look at some more examples and discuss!