In defense of the sanctimonious women's studies set || First feminist blog on the internet

The Facebook Rainbow

frau sally benz

I’ve been off Facebook today, but three people have now contacted me about this whole “women posting the color of their bra as their FB status” thing. Because I seem to be everyone’s go to social media maven, they’re all coming to me for answers or at least a reaction.

In case you don’t have Facebook or nobody you know is doing this or maybe you saw it and had no idea, women are changing their status to a color. Some of my friends have listed red, white, etc. Sometimes they say it’s their bra color, sometimes they just list a color with no explanation or anything.

I investigated and found that, indeed, some women were doing this. My friend and I further investigated and found some links stating it’s for breast cancer awareness. Here’s the text from Yahoo Answers:

this is the message all the girls are recieving on facebook:

Some fun is going on…. just write the color of your bra in your status. Just the color, nothing else. And send this on to ONLY girls no men …. It will be neat to see if this will spread the wings of cancer awareness. It will be fun to see how long it takes before the men will wonder why all the girls have a color in their status… Haha.

I found a few other links with similar supposed Facebook messages, but that’s the general idea.

I have to say, this is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard of on earth. (Alright, that might be an exaggeration, but it’s pretty damn stupid!) For one, I don’t believe it has anything to do with breast cancer. I think it’s just some stupid prank to get people’s attention and have everyone on Facebook being all sexy and provocative and whatnot. And, of course, I’m just waiting for the “these girls are such sluts” comments that are sure to come.

Of course, I have to ask myself how stupid or smart this is if it is, in fact, for breast cancer awareness. And in that case, my answer is… the same. Still stupid. Perhaps even stupider. Because nobody is actually talking about breast cancer, or even mentioning it in their status. A lot of women probably don’t even know why their friends are doing it, they just see it as some Facebook meme and then deciding to taking part. So where on earth is all this awareness? A much better campaign would keep the whole bra color thing, but then instruct women to also leave a link to a breast cancer-related site, or a splash page or similar teaser that will eventually have breast cancer information.

In conclusion, if it’s just a prank: stupid and just having women look like idiots while trying to be all sexy and whatever. If it’s actual breast cancer awareness: a poorly constructed campaign that will have very little, if any, success.

ETA: My friend just got a message and hers says:

Write the color of your bra in your status. Just the color, nothing else. And send this on to only gals no men…it will be neat to see if this will spread the wings of cancer awareness. It will be fun to see how long it takes before the men will wonder why all the girls have a color on their status! LOL!

72 thoughts on The Facebook Rainbow

  3. I got this message today too and was like “Say What?” I agree stupid prank / very poorly constructed campaign…how are you even suppose to know they are raising awareness about breast cancer … the colors of our bras are so telling (insert sarcasm).

  4. Don’t involve the men-folk because clearly breast cancer awareness is an inside joke amongst the women-folk despite men also being affected directly. There’s also an explicit disregard for other genders… all of whom are also affected by breast cancer.

    If this is real, there’s so much wrong with this campaign besides the obvious. If you care about breast cancer, donate. All this color stuff just makes me want to make a second trip to the semi-annual sale at Victoria’s Secret.

  5. Huh. and here I thought it was a pop quiz on your favorite color. But maybe that’s just the people I hang with on Face book.**

    **Gods, I cannot believe I even wrote that sentence! =:O If you knew what a Luddite I am, you’d get my horror.

  6. The one I got had no mention of breast cancer awareness either…it said something about a fun game that some rollergirls started or something like that (I just deleted it straight off). It’s a bit weird.

  7. Agreed, this is not about breast cancer–it’s about seeing how many idiots you can get to follow the crowd in the guise of sexiness and teeheeing with all your girl “friends.” See, no one falls for the “Facebook is shutting down!!” messages anymore; never thought I’d miss those days…

  8. I got a note last night too:

    “We are playing a game…… silly, but fun! write the colour of your bra as your status, just the colour, nothing else!! Copy this and pass it on to all girls/Females …… NO MEN!! This will be fun to see how it spreads, and we are leaving the men wondering why all females just have a colour as their status!! Let’s have fun!!”

    My reaction was “Uhhhhh, what?? That’s so stupid. Let’s freak out the males derrrr.” Then I laughed because I wasn’t wearing a bra at the moment. Haha take that!

  10. You are to write the colour of your bra and then check your breasts for lumps. It is a good cause for breast cancer. The Facebook status draws your attention, and then you realize it’s time to check yourself out for lumps! Nothing wrong with that.

  12. I got puzzled by all the statuses and googled around until I figured it out. Now I’m more aware of breast cancer than I was a minute ago, because a minute ago I wasn’t thinking about it and now I am.

    So maybe it works a little bit.

  13. I’m just annoyed because it treats an illness that is very real as another chance to score off the opposite gender. “Don’t tell the guys–let them wonder!”

    Well, guess what, guys get breast cancer too.

    I’m also grouchy because I have do have lumps…(benign cysts) and this checking thing does nada for me. I found another one recently and I’ll get THAT ultrasounded but meh. If you want people to know what in the hell you are talking about, you tell them. Right now it’s I Know This Sekrit and You Don’t….and that’s not useful.

  14. I thought it was the most pointless exercise ever. I put down “none” anyway. My Facebook abounds in pointlessness at the best of times!

  16. Eh. Since when is the colour of a bra a matter of national security? I.e. since when is it remotely exciting?

    Lol gaiz, today I wore a black one! OMG how totally titillating! (pun intended)

    So if it’s a prank, it’s not merely stupid, it’s just kinda meh. Nothing to write home about.

  17. I got that message. I couldn’t figure out a good word to describe my bra color though. It’s what was once called “flesh-colored” “nude” or “tan”… all of which are kind of, you know, white-normative terms.

    Also, it’s stupid.

  18. Guilty feminist with her status message as “fuchsia!”

    Seriously, this avalanche of status changes sparked a conversation not only on breast cancer but ovarian cancer in my circle, not to mention the politics of the HPV vaccine soon to be discussed. May seem stupid to you, perhaps somewhat provocative, hardly at anyone’s expense.

    I’m happy it sparked conversation in the course of a few hours. I think that is something.

  19. I thought it was spam at first…

    Seriously, I haven’t received that many FB messages in one month.

    I fail to grok how randomly posting your bra color (if in fact you are wearing one) is doing anything for breast cancer awareness… it is like a big giggly joke. More of the “save the ta-ta’s” humor. Yay!

  20. I got it too. Sheesh. I’m not doing my part for the “breast cancer aware” Sorry, sisterhood.

    Subject: Build solidarity with your sisterhood, and make a simply, discreet shout out for Breast Cancer Aware

    Write the color of your bra as your status (just the colour, nothing else!!) Copy this and pass it on to all female friends (NO MEN!!)

    It’s a great way to measure the solidarity of sisterhood by fast it spreads, and it’s fun to see how many men wonder why so many women just have color in their status.

  21. Thank you. I wrote pretty much just that in my status and got blasted by a few ‘friends’ because I was “spoiling their fun” and “didn’t have to rant about everything”

    But I am very uncomfortable at the thought of hundreds of people reading my bra color and then picturing me in my underwear… or imagining what the bra might look like… not really my idea of fun.

  22. My little sister’s friends (who are all like 15) are doing this. She’s going round and commenting “GOSH THAT’S A REALLY NICE BRA COLOUR” etc. Hahahahaha.

  23. I’m pretty sure that the person who made this up is a teenage guy. It just seems like what passes for humor at 15. (Maybe I’m being too generous.)

  24. My favorite was staring, very conused, at a friend’s status update that said only “nada,” and suddenly understanding that that was her “color,” since she apparently wasn’t wearing a bra. LOL and Yay.

    (PS: I posted a Facebook status update that said “beige” and then linked to this post)

  25. wait no longer for the shaming to begin. Copied from the wall of a male Facebook user:

    Call me old fashioned, but I think it’s a bad idea for women to post their bra colors on FB, especially women of faith who care about preserving a pure image in the minds of men.

  26. I had no idea and had my posts “Yellow Snow” until I found out what it was about. Then I was going to change it to “The colour of Lemmings”…didn’t bother as I know it would have been a huge hassle.

  27. I was proud of my friends because I hadn’t received a message (though I’d seen a color post or two) but I just got one. Sigh. Temptation to post status “None of your beeswax!” (doubles as telling Facebook it doesn’t get to know what’s on my mind) continues.

  28. One of my best friends posted this:

    “Inspired me to do the same! [Her friend]: “Instead of posting my bra color on FB, I donated $10 to Breast Cancer Action.”

    with a link to bcaction.org

    My friend rocks, and her friends are even more awesome.

  29. I just donated to Susan G. Komen, only $5 since I am a poor grad student… Haha! I also said “donated… seems more meaningful than a color.”

    Thanks for opening our eyes about that silly meme! And giving $5 seems a whole lot more valuable than titillating people I haven’t directly interacted with for over a decade!

  30. I very nearly posted “green”, without any idea what was going on, and now I kinda wish I had.

    But yes, possibly the stupidest campaign ever, and frankly disheartening. I’d imagined that someone just posted a colour and it caught on without any kind of coordination.

  31. it absolutely has nothing to do with breast cancer awareness, but I did think it was cute. I think it is just funny.

  32. I’ve seen men do it too, so I assumed it was about underwear color. Nothing to do with cancer awareness! Such a stupid idea.

  33. Call me old fashioned, but I think it’s a bad idea for women to post their bra colors on FB, especially women of faith who care about preserving a pure image in the minds of men.

    lolololol

  34. I just saw a status update that tells me exactly how much this campaign actually has to do with breast cancer:

    “things would be much better if women would just post a profile picture”

    Nice. Of course men aren’t just using this to picture us naked (or close to it). I don’t see any evidence of objectification there (I really need to find a better way to use sarcasm in print)… just for fun… this actually makes me angry.

  38. “Call me old fashioned, but I think it’s a bad idea for women to post their bra colors on FB, especially women of faith who care about preserving a pure image in the minds of men.”

    Oh, I’ll call you a lot more than just ‘old-fashioned’.

  39. Hey, you know a group of women who are less likely to have a fun variety of bra colours/patterns to cheekily tell their friends and random acquaintances about? Breast cancer survivors who’ve had mastectomies! If those women do choose to wear a bra and/or prosthesis, they may not be able to afford more than one or two bras, since they’re often very expensive. But, uh, way to support the cause, FB.

  40. This is what my Church of Christ minister step-uncle has to say: Sisters, there are certain things that are none of our business. Please go back and delete your posts. I’m not kidding.

    And, of course, some of his male FB chimed in to shame the ladies. 🙁

  41. Still haven’t seen who actually originally started it, so I remain suspicious that it is some sort of test to see how fast a bland meme can spread around FB.

  44. My favourite part is that this ‘cancer’ awareness campaign is aimed at women only. This bothers me. Yay, for more segregation between the sexes!!! Just one other way to make us seem different… ; )

    Regarding the validity of the form of campaign, if it is in reality what it says it is, although it is most definitely over simplified I perceive that this is the maximum amount most individuals these days are willing to commit to such charitable campaigns. As if openly expressing a colour somehow represents a moral commitment by the stater, and will lead to some sort of change beyond the text.

    I have written and thought too much about this; summary, I am agitated by it.

  46. Breaking news: there’s something stupid on the Internets! Seriously, alert the presses, this one’s a shocker: there’s an annoying and silly meme going around on Facebook. Stop whatever you are doing and discuss.

  47. I don’t see any evidence of objectification there (I really need to find a better way to use sarcasm in print)… just for fun… this actually makes me angry.

    Objectification can be fun. I doubt most of the women and girls posting their bra colours have no clue that some people might find it flirtatious or ZOMG sinful and disgusting. If I wasn’t bitching about city administration today on Facebook, I might post mine. Alas, admins are more important, and plus, for some of us, a bra colour seems a bit tame by comparison (people have told me that some of my Facebook pictures are ZOMG sinful and disgusting — to which I can only say: eh, you know?)

  48. I replied with a curt ‘fuck off, I don’t wear one’ to all five of the emails about it I received yesterday. Noone replied. Heart broken, sisterhood smashed, feel like posting ‘fishnet half-cup with nipple tassels and PVC tape’ to make up for it.

  49. A male Facebook friend posted “8 1/2,” and after he got tons of questions, one bringing up the mysterious color thing, he admitted it was related. Anyone have any idea what this is about? Is it some stupid penis size thing, because that would be ridiculous.

  50. A male Facebook friend posted “8 1/2,” and after he got tons of questions, one bringing up the mysterious color thing, he admitted it was related. Anyone have any idea what this is about? Is it some stupid penis size thing, because that would be ridiculous.

    LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

    I like your male Facebook friend already.

  51. It’s really working!

    Why, just yesterday I overheard this conversation:

    A: Hey, what’s up with all these colors as people’s facebook statuses?

    B: Oh, it’s to raise awareness of breast cancer.

    A: Breast cancer? What is this “breast cancer” you speak of? I have never heard of it before.

    B: It’s a terrible disease that kills millions of women every year.

    A: Really? My goodness, I had no idea!!! Something should be done about that.

    B: I agree!

    A: Well, anyway I have to get going now.

    B: Okay, bye.

  52. This has spread to the francosphere. The two invitations of this sort I’ve received are from French (female) friends, and the invitation was, of course, in French.

  53. Call me old fashioned, but I think it’s a bad idea for women to post their bra colors on FB, especially women of faith who care about preserving a pure image in the minds of men.

    It’s a shame we can’t do top troll nominations by proxy.

  54. Best answer I’ve seen yet:

    MY PANTIES ARE GREEN. Disclosing this demonstrates my support for ovarian, uterine, and cervical cancer research. I will not, however, be donating any money to support the cause. I will also not be participating in any “Race for the Cure” activities. Basically I’m not doing shit except telling you what color my panties are. Aren’t I cute?

  55. el-Miko. Yeah. What you said.

    I’ve had two very close relatives die of breast cancer, and I can’t tell you how tired I am of “breast cancer awareness” (whatever that means) allegedly lending a sacred aura to what is really inane, consumerist, and not that good for women.

    Any idea what percentage of funds given to Susan Komen foundation actually goes to RESEARCH instead of more fundraising? Any idea what percentage goes to making that research accessible and useful to folks living at or below the poverty line — or well above it without health insurance?

    I rant.

  56. Heh @el Miko.

    How aware of breast cancer does a woman really need to be? Everyone knows about it. If you go to the doctor regularly and know your family history, then that’s all the awareness you need.

    Anxiety is also unhealthy.

    But maybe I’m just crabby because my mom is dead and it’s offensive to me that people use her death as a) a source of titillation for dudes and b) a means of social control over women.

    Simply put, I don’t give a shit about saving breasts, I care about saving women.

  58. I totally agree.

    How ironic that men in my friends have taken to joining a group called http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=242731297745&ref=mf

    Feminism is all about breasts, you know. Those tricky feminists, they’re always talking about their breasts.

    Either they got them, they want you to want them, or they’re sick of disguising them. Burn those bras girls! I mean, post the colours of those bras!

    Who needs intelligent discussion when you’ve got breasts!

  59. The one I got started, “I know its sorta spam, but no breast cancer = totally worth it. Have you done you monthly examination?? Early detection can be life saving.”

    I don’t know which of my friends added that line, but it made the whole thing a little less insulting. Even missing the apostrophe.

  60. I don’t really see how it’s for breast cancer, because it doesn’t mention anything about it in the chain letter or your status. I think it’s just a dumb FB chain letter. But I don’t see how it is a way for girls to be sexy on their profile or objectifies them. So we wear bras. So what? I don’t think it’s some overly sexy thing to post the color, just a silly way to connect with the girls and show off the far reach of social networking. I don’t think Id feel the mens were getting objectified if they all posted their boxer color.

    And if nothing else, at least its a way to upset those who think women should be modest for the sake of men (such as the men from snowe and kat’s posts)

  61. “I have to say, this is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard of on earth.”

    Agreed! I’m not on Facebook, so I don’t know anything about it. But this line almost made me spit my tea all over my computer in laughter. Just tell it like it is!

  62. Wow. The insulting attitude of some folks here and the COMPLETE misrepresentation about what this is is really disheartening. Though some who have survived breast cancer don’t like this campaign and have their right not to like it, many of us who HAVE DO like it. As someone said on feministing, the majority (only) time she’s seen feminists talk about breast cancer is to oppose breast cancer awareness campaigns that they deem objectionable. Though *you* might feel objectified you *don’t* get to tell those of us survivors and family of survivors and family of deceased breast cancer victims, that *we* have to feel objectified. We don’t. Disagree all you want, but can we stop the insulting language that tries to shame us into acting and talking how YOU feel we should?

    (Oh and can we stop playing “disease olympics”? We realize that there are many diseases which kill and harm many people. And in some cases more numbers of people are affected by other diseases than the numbers of people affected by breast cancer. But understand, THIS IN NO WAY MAKES IT EASIER FOR THOSE OF US THAT HAVE BEEN AFFECTED BY BREAST CANCER. Being dismissive of our pain by playing “disease olympics” is simply unacceptable behavior in a “safe space”. We’re not mocking you, your experiences, or your beliefs. We’re only saying this is *one* method that we are using to deal with our pain. You don’t have to deal with it in the same way, that’s fine. But dismissing us is only hurtful and hardly demonstrative of the kinds of support we should be receiving in a feminist space.

  63. “I have to say, this is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard of on earth.”

    Agreed! I’m not on Facebook, so I don’t know anything about it. But this line almost made me spit my tea all over my computer in laughter. Just tell it like it is!

    Nice. Nice and demeaning. The stupidest thing I’ve ever heard is people think it’s ok to sexually abuse children.

    The rest of my comments stand and I won’t beat a dead horse. But there are far more things that are stupid than this.

  64. I recieved this chain message this morning. It is a far cry from breast cancer awareness and I find it demeaning. Somebody has taken this idea, which was questionable in the first place, and turned it into a game that makes the girls who participate look dumb and slutty.

    “hello girlies… day 3 of the ‘breast cancer game’ thanx to those who have played along.

    Today all day i want you to put the size of your feet and the word inches and a sad face after for example.. 6 inches 🙁 …. we’ll wind the men up wih this one for sure haha..

    send to all females in ur list…. and please remember not to let slip to any men what the status relates to (and don’t explain on your wall), the colour status’ for colour of your bra actually made the news!

    Raise Breast Cancer Awareness and keep this going… ”

    I mean, really? This is obviously somebody’s idea of a joke.

  66. …raising “awareness” through secrecy.

    We’ve not been very secretive about it considering it’s all over the blogosphere and television. And contrary to the implications of some here, it IS working. Membership in some breast cancer groups has grown HUNDREDS of percents. I’d say that’s a pretty good leap. Believe it or not, because of the magnitude of this campaign, there are now many that will not have to suffer the pain that breast cancer caused me.

  68. Groggette,

    Sorry, that’s not our campaign. We’re an autonomous group of persons that are not required to alter our decisions because someone else mocks us or because someone else doesn’t like our personal choices. That’s why feminism exists, so every woman can make her own path.

  69. I must admit to having blindly posted my colour (and not taken any further action), albeit with the passing thoughts “but men get breast cancer too” and “why do we have to do this childish keep-it-a-secret-from-men thing?” (though I didn’t do anything much about that except discuss it with my brother).

    Having read the different posts here, I think the campaign could have been more effective by asking women to post their bra colour (to keep the dubious “fun” element) followed by the amount they donated to breast cancer research.

    Of course people know of breast cancer, but knowing of the existence of something doesn’t mean thinking about it often enough or taking action.

    BTW, why does the breast cancer awareness ribbon have to be pink? Is that the official “women’s colour”? Ugh.
    http://www.pinkstinks.co.uk/

  70. “why do we have to do this childish keep-it-a-secret-from-men thing?”

    Wow. Just wow! So now we’re “childish”? UN-F’N-BELIEVABLE! Is it AT ALL POSSIBLE to disagree with us without using that kind of infantalizing commentary TYPICAL OF THE PATRIARCHY?

    Having read the different posts here, I think the campaign could have been more effective by asking women to post their bra colour (to keep the dubious “fun” element) followed by the amount they donated to breast cancer research.

    Our campaign was VERY successful on its own. The posting of only the color created a question in people’s minds that is common (and successful) in modern advertising. Once the question was answered they (and we) kept talking.

    However, I agree that as the campaign moves forward, posting not only the information you’ve suggested but also that we’ve done our regular breast exams (for men too!!!) would be a way not only to keep breast cancer awareness going, but jump the defense against it.

    BTW, why does the breast cancer awareness ribbon have to be pink? Is that the official “women’s colour”? Ugh.
    http://www.pinkstinks.co.uk/

    The ribbon came out before the explosion of pink that we now see everywhere. Also, contrary to popular belief, it’s not pink all of the time. That’s just the one most people see. We in the breast cancer awareness community, used to distribute multicolored breast cancer awareness ribbon pins.

    You can use ANY SYMBOL you want to spread breast cancer awareness. So if you dislike pink, start wearing another color. It’s called a meme and it REALLY does work. But there are many of us that LIKE the pink and we shouldn’t be made to feel less because we are following our own life choices eg. your first comment referring to us as childish.

    And please DONT tell me you meant the ACTION was childish. Saying someone’s ACTIONS are childish are the SAME as saying THEY are childish. It would be no different if the patriarchy called us childish about this or any other life choice we have made. It is DEGRADING, DISMISSIVE and WHOLLY UN-ACCEPTABLE.

    Point? Disagree without the insulting commentary.

  71. I must agree that at first I thought it was stupid as well, I didn’t understand how it would help awareness. But the facts don’t lie; the Susan G. Komen Foundation stated that their FB fanbase has quintupled. Most think, so what, they have more fans. The hope is that anytime any of the keywords relating to breast cancer are read/heard that people will act on it by either doing a self exam or making a donation. Subtle reminders are great for the busy life we have all become accustomed to. I may not remember to check my breasts regularly, but if I see just about anything that can make me ‘aware’ of it then it helps.

    Back to the bra color posts though… Sure it is childish and a juvenile way to bring attention, but lets face it, there are a lot of childish people out there and sometimes you have to get on their level to get a message across to them. No one can deny that a basic boring (yet still very relevant) post such as “Support the Susan G Komen Foundation” or “Check your breasts” would have had a much much shorter lifespan as a chain post.

    I will note though, that I did not participate because of my original thoughts on how childish it was, my thoughts changed only after hearing that it did in fact help (leads me to regret being so narrow minded on the situation at first). I did however Google it to find out why everyone was doing it, then promptly did a breast exam since it had been a while.

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