Why "Save the Ta-tas" is not helping the cure

by Jada Ojii 

#savethetatas

October is winding down to an end, and as many know, it is noted as Breast Cancer Awareness month. Numerous organizations and campaigns have been founded in order to bring awareness to the disease and raise money for cancer research. One such organization is the Save the Ta-tas Foundation. You can find the hashtag #savethetatas under a pouted selfie of that girl that you kinda know and follow on Instagram clad in her shimmering pink shirt. OMG, she is totes down for the cure and she must donate to cancer research on a very regular basis! Unlikely. Many people tend to post hashtags in order to seem all humanitarian, charitable, and kind-spirited, but in reality its just for the likes and attention. Yes she is letting people know about cancer and all, but no dime is being donated to help cancer research and by the time November comes around, it will be less about the ta-tas and more about the turkey.

No, save the bodies

The Save the Ta-tas Foundation has a good idea in that it strides to donate a portion of its profits to cancer research with the hope of finding a cure for breast cancer. However, save the tatas? Many would agree that saving boobies is not a the goal for finding a cure for breast cancer. And can I just say that slogans like "I heart breasts" and "save the tatas" is at least a little offensive to the women who have to undergo a mastectomy, or surgery to remove the breast, so that the cancer won't spread, or in like Angelina Jolie's case, as a preventative measure because cancer runs in the family? The mission is not to save the ta-tas, here. It's to save the bodies of the women (and some men) who have the disease. Breasts do serve a purpose, but they are superficial and they are not necessary to in order to live. The Save the Ta-tas Foundation has a good understructure, but fails to thoroughly exhibit it through its title. Just because it is 2014 does not mean that we have to sexualize something like breast cancer awareness. Sure you've got everyone's attention, but how about we #savethebodies instead and actually get to the root of the problem: cancer.



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