Rethink Pink

I have nothing against pink; it's a beautiful colour with a rich history and most often associated with babies and little girls.

In recent memory, pink became the colour for the fight against breast cancer and was embraced by many because of this worthy cause. Manufacturers jumped onto the pink bandwagon and started slapping the ubiquitous pink ribbon on all types of products.

Some of us were perturbed by what appeared to be an unholy alliance of manufacturers and search for the cure  organizations which looked like a big industry unto itself. Pink was appearing on every item possible; shoes, bags, hats, clothing, jewellery, gardening items, home décor, office supplies, mugs, small kitchen appliances, pet supplies, you name it, it has probably been 'pinked'. The pink ribbon and the colour pink had become marketing tools. I have to admit I steered away from pink products and all products sporting the pink ribbon. I never felt comfortable with any of them.

In light of the Susan G. Komen disastrous decision to defund Planned Parenthood and the 'reversal' a few days later after a huge backlash, in my opinion, it`s time for women to stop encouraging and buying into the 'pinking' of our health. Millions of dollars have been raised and spent and are we any further ahead than we were ten years ago in a search for a cure? Maybe it`s time to shift our focus to prevention as a viable part of cancer research as well.

From the Susan G. Komen fiasco, we can see that an organization headed by women supposedly working for the good of women does not always have the interests of women at the heart of its objectives. It`s a shame breast cancer and women`s health have become politicized but it`s great to see that women, prompted by the Komen decision, found their voice and forced that organization to back down and their V.P. for Public Affairs, Karen Handel, to resign. Even better to see the role social media, like Twitter and Facebook, played in getting women`s voices heard.

We women have the numbers. If we let others have jurisdiction over our healthcare, we will have no one to blame but ourselves. Let`s rethink pink.

Will keep you posted.