By Angela Lee
Staff Writer
Breast cancer is a very serious topic. According to The American Cancer Society, breast cancer accounts for one in three of all new cancers affecting women each year. That makes up 2.3 million women in 2022 who were diagnosed with breast cancer.
With these staggering numbers, you would expect to see Breast Cancer Awareness Month treated with the respect it deserves. However, this is not what I see online. Instead, sparkly graphics and cutesy, light-hearted imagery splashes across posters, making the issue appear trivial and taking away from the brutal reality of breast cancer.
Interestingly, when I searched for prostate cancer, I noticed a stark contrast. The images were somber and respectful, showing the seriousness of the disease without dramatic embellishments. This difference in tone made me question if there’s an underlying gender bias at play. Why is breast cancer portrayed with feminine and pretty designs? It feels like the media’s representation of Breast Cancer Awareness feeds into outdated and misogynistic ideas, framing it in a way that’s acceptable or gentle, even though it’s anything but that.
This downplaying is especially insensitive because breast cancer disproportionately affects women of color. Within our school population, around 33.4% of students identify as Asian American women. Statistics show that breast cancer rates are increasing in Asian communities, making this topic relevant and deeply personal for many of us.
It makes me angry that this is a real issue where many people have lost their loved ones or been affected. While it is important to understand that men can also get breast cancer, women make up the vast majority of cases and are more often the targets of these insensitive graphics. These cutesy, glittery graphics ignore the real-life impact of breast cancer on people we know – our grandmothers, mothers, aunts and sisters.
Instead of the glittery and preppy visuals, these graphics should focus on the cultural contexts and health disparities that affect all women. Give it from the heart. For many women, breast cancer means enduring drastic changes: more than 100,000 U.S. women undergo some form of mastectomy each year. As they go on, physical, emotional and social changes occur in their lives. These experiences are not glamorous, and the graphics used in awareness campaigns should not desensitize this reality.
To be clear, I am not dismissing the seriousness of other cancers. I am calling for Breast Cancer Awareness graphics to be treated with the respect and honesty they deserve. To support those affected, let’s push for campaigns that reflect the reality of breast cancer.
So, I encourage you to engage and support individuals facing breast cancer in a meaningful, respectful way – not through sparkles but through compassion and awareness of the difficult reality they face every day.