#NoBraDay: Because nothing says “raising awareness” like sexualizing cancer!

#NoBraDay: Because nothing says “raising awareness” like sexualizing cancer!

[Depending on where you work, some images in this post may be NSFW.]

Are you or is someone you know a victim of the ravages of breast cancer? Never fear—the League of Extraordinary Social Justice Warriors has resurrected a hashtag to help you deal.

Welcome to National No Bra Day—it’s exactly what it sounds like.

Here’s how No Bra Day was originally described by, ostensibly, whoever conceived it:

Boobies are Fantastic… We all think so. And what better way to express the way we feel than to support a full day of boobie freedom??
Women are magnificent creatures, and so are their breasts. Let us spend the day unleashing boobies from their boobie zoos.

Ladies, free your breasts for 24 hours by removing those dreadful (but at times oh-so-helpful) bras. Our perkiness should not be hidden. It is time that the world see what we were blessed with. Your breasts might be colossal, adorable, miniature, full, jiggly, fancy, sensitive, glistening, bouncy, smooth, tender, still blossoming, rosy, plump, fun, silky, Jello-like, fierce, jolly, nice, naughty, cuddly… But the most used word to describe your breasts on July 9th should be FREE!

…

P.S. Ladies…. Wearing a white t-shirt on this day is not only acceptable, but encouraged!

**Breast Cancer is something you should take seriously and be checked for.**

Too long, didn’t read? Here:

SHOW US YOUR BOOBS! Oh, and PS…self-exams and mammograms are important and overlooked procedures so do that too.

Of course, the “#NoBraDay” hashtag is blowing up with some seriously NSFW content. Some, however, are not impressed by how…exposed…this particular brand of activism leaves women looking to raise awareness [some NSFW language]:

To all the people posting vain #NoBraDay pictures this is the reality of breast cancer & the reason for the campaign pic.twitter.com/X02DPIGMQS

— Ann Russell (@FrockTrade) October 13, 2015

How about instead of #NoBraDay, we change it to #ScheduleAMammogramDay so we ACTUALLY help raise awareness.
Stop sexualizing breast cancer.

— Iris Augustadt (@augustadt_iris) October 13, 2015

It's #NoBraDay, a fun, flirty way to sexualize a fatal disease on social media. http://t.co/KT0Gz4U8Kw pic.twitter.com/S27WygrV1a

— someecards (@someecards) October 13, 2015

When we talk about testicular cancer we don't suggest that men should post pictures of their balls. (And please never start) #NoBraDay

— OhNoSheTwitnt (@OhNoSheTwitnt) October 13, 2015

As someone whose mother died of breast cancer, fuuuuuuuuuuck #NoBraDay. By all means, take cute selfies. But don't pretend it's for this.

— Mara Wilson (@MaraWritesStuff) October 13, 2015

#NoBraDay seems more like #LetsSexualiseBreastCancerDay. Understand the intention but pert nipple selfies is not the reality of cancer

— Lily Bailey (@LilyBaileyUK) October 13, 2015

Because 2015 is a dark place, and full of marauding trolls, I feel compelled to point out—lest we leave our common sense behind—that there is nothing dirty, or repulsive, or wrong about the sight of a bare or nearly-bare breast. Breasts are beautiful, and I think it’s important to highlight the brutal and demoralizing nature of the struggle to beat all types of cancer.

This campaign does not do that.

A walk about town without a bra on will do about as much to raise awareness about cancer as would a pantsless ride on the MTA.

Cameron Gray has it right:

If #NoBraDay was REALLY about breast cancer awareness, every tweet would have a pic like this, not topless selfies pic.twitter.com/wF3knZIjIP

— Cameron Gray (@Cameron_Gray) October 13, 2015

Of course, campaigns like this will continue, because people will never stop searching for an outlet to “speak out” about various ills that requires them to do nothing but draw attention to their own concern. Make no mistake: this campaign doesn’t necessarily harm anyone (apart from momentarily taking the focus off of actual efforts to treat and prevent the disease) but it has nothing to do with women who have actually suffered as a result of breast cancer.

This is a vanity thing, not a compassion thing.

Follow Amy on Twitter @ThatAmyMiller

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