The month of October means that thousands of Americans will be celebrating the Susan G Komen Breast Cancer Walk. It is also referred to as the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure, Relay for Life, and Making Strides Against Breast Cancer. Unfortunately, in some communities, the event was cancelled. Although most of these rescheduled breast cancer walks were due to bad weather, their is another kind of storm brewing in Arizona.
Cheerleaders at the local high school in Gilbert, Ariz., were geared to show their support for their local weekend of awareness. However, on Friday October 14, they were told the slogan for their breast cancer themed shirts were inappropriate.
Halfway through the month of awareness for this cause, this high school principal has proved that bad press is still good publicity. On Twitter, fans of the banned “feel for lumps, save your bumps” tee are showing their support of the cheerleaders in wearing the shirt. While their comments may be tongue in cheek, the main beef stated on Twitter was that prudes need to “get over it” and accept the humor behind the importance of giving yourself a breast self-exam every month.
In blog comments, a real conversation emerges on the topic once the 140 character limit has been lifted. Putting the stated headline aside, the issue of men and breast cancer was highlighted. As one social networker said, “Who says this is a t-shirt about women? Men need breast exams too. Men get breast cancer. Feel for lumps, save your bumps is an issue for everyone. Everyone feel your boobies.”
However, there are still plenty of opportunities for Americans to show they care about ending breast cancer even if Susan G Komen events are still primarily male-focused. As it states on their website, all proceeds of these walks goes to “fund mammograms for women in need.”
While some cities have yet to celebrate, others will be re-scheduling in the next weeks. Stay tuned for changes with all 2011 breast cancer walk events by visiting the list of walk events at TheBreastCancerSite.com.