Sunday, January 17, 2010

Facebook latest abuse: What colour's your bra??

Almost a week back, I witnessed quite an interesting flood of status messages from my female friends at facebook. I think most of you who use facebook must be knowing this. The status messages consisted of just one word, a colour. There was black, there was white, golden, red, and many others. I was a bit confused what exactly that was. I even asked one of them as to what that is but no reply came. The next day I saw an article in The Times Of India about it telling that all this followed a series of mails asking women and girls for writing the colour of their bra in order to spread awareness about breast carcinoma. The mail asked to write down just one word, the colour, and nothing else.
In a way, I was shocked reading the news in the daily. I don't know what kind of an organisation this was that initiated this move. I learned about it being an american NGO or something but does it really matter. There has been so many fruitful programmes on raising the awareness of this deadly disease, breast cancer. Can a campaign like this really do some good in this regard?
I don't really understand what kind of awareness could these colours raise but it certainly managed to give me much insight into female undergarments. I didn't know that a golden bra also comes in the market. There were many other colours too that I didn't know about. Certainly, it did arose some awarenesss for me (and many others like me). Some of us were even commenting on such colours. Some comments read like 'wow!', 'hot!', 'ooooohhhhhhhh!' and many others depicting the lusty expressions of the mankind. Was the campaign meant for comments like that. Isn't it a disgusting way of promoting something that is too important an issue?
The limit was crossed when some staus messages started coming saying 'nothing.' Such messages were flooded with highest number of comments showing in all respect what regards we boys have for that part of a female's body. I won't say that we boys are not guilty of throwing in such comments, we really are. But are not the girls guilty as much? What exactly do they want to propagate about the cancer by telling their bra's colour. I would have certainly felt a lot embarrassed if I had seen a status message like that one from my sister.
For me, the colour of undergarments in no way provoke any idea inside me for the disease. What could it do at the most was make me a little horny and nothing else. I don't want to be a 'moral police' here neither I want to act like one. I am not saying that it in any way is violating the element of decency in the society. Everybody has a right to express themselves, that they can do in any way of their likings. Maybe, this is what they were doing. Not all the girls on facebook were busy writing in such status messages. There were many who avoided it.
My only point lies in that what kind of an expression was it to tell the colour of your bra to the public. It didn't provoke anybody to form a fan club or community on facebook to fight against breast cancer. What it did provoke was a fan club named "I Really Dont Care What Color Your Bra Is." Now is it not evident enough of what kind of an idea it provoked in people's mind. Everybody has an idea of their own to do something. It lies only on the conscience of the followers to look into the matter, think over it and when it seems followable, then do follow it. May be one day I will see somebody posting a half-nude picture of herself on facebook and saying this is to raise the awareness about breast cancer and for that matter, I would certainly hope nobody raises her voice for cervical or vaginal cancer. We won't be able to tolerate that.
I want to put again my point very clearly that I am not against a move meant to raise awareness about any disease. Being a medical student, I have seen people dying of such diseases; diseases from which people could have been saved with early diagnosis and prompt treatment. I would welcome anything that in reality raises some awareness for this disease. I only hope that people don't indulge in something that is meaningless, disgraceful or in anyway hurting to somebody (like the brothers and fathers who must have felt emabarrassed with such messages). Hopeful for some meaningful use of facebook next time!!!

{NOTE: The link to the TOI article shows only a part of the published article. I couldn't find the full article on web. One can see the bottom of front page of TOI, 8th Jan. isssue.}

7 comments:

Alok said...

i feel there is something inherent in these new communication platforms itself, which trivializes everything...it is very hard to take anything seriously on facebook or other such sites. I have rarely seen any meaningful conversation or discussion either. I agree with you entirely. Something sombre and tragic and important is being made trivial.

On a lighter note, I believe in our culture a particular female organ is needlessly over-sexualized:) and i think a truly effective campaign about breast cancer should do something about it!!

Aashu said...

@Alok: I completely agree over your point of over-sexualisaion of THE particular female organ in our society. There have been cases in the oncology OPD where female patients are presenting with all the systemic signs of a cancer somewhere in the body and yet doctors are not able to find the primary lesion. Patients are not talking about some lump in their breast that they have already noticed. Talking about breasts is still believed to be a stigma in our society and for a male doctor to ask for the examaination of one is still considered a taboo here. Only way an awareness campaign can generate a fruitful result is by removing these stigmas and taboos from our mind. A real uphill task for us to do!!!

kunal bhardwaj said...

there are more subtle and effective way of raising a campaign rather than using these tactics which are worthless and cheap at the same time. wonder how many of these gals would have done their bit in actual case of a need of a breast cancer patient....i sense a desperation and frolic in these status messages rather then helpin a serious cause...

Aashu said...

@kunal: I completely agree with you on the point that such issues could be and should be dealt with more seriousness and effectiveness. Here, there was more of fun involved in the issue. This is only sad, sad on part of both the preacher as well as the followers...

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