I am not a fan of those breast cancer FB status games. I don’t play them because I can’t see how they “raise awareness” of a cause when it is all giggly secrets and “hush-hush don’t tell the menfolk.” A reader pointed out to me that these statuses “lighten up a serious issue”. And ok, if that was the reason for this, I could (sort of) see the point.
But that isn’t how it is spun. The wording specifically says “to raise awareness”. In my opinion, these games only cheapen and trivialize this serious issue. Cancer is not a laughing matter. I’m a little sensitive about this, because my dad died of cancer, but they aren’t really about cancer anyway. They are a joke, an excuse for women (not men-cuz we have to keep our girlish “secrets”, tee-hee, har har, giggle.) to feel risque by posting sort-of-naughty status messages.
This new one has women pretending to be pregnant by choosing a number representing their birth month and birthdate. The birth month states how many weeks “pregnant” you are, and the birthdate claims what you are craving, with a list of candy to choose from. This has been bothering me more than the others games. I didn’t really know what it was about this that rankled until I read this article. The others were merely annoying, but this one has the potential to actually hurt people.
How many of us have friends or family members that are struggling with infertility and desperately crave to announce their own pregnancies? How do you think it feels to be recovering from a traumatic miscarriage and log onto facebook to find thirty of your friends are suddenly pregnant- no wait- just kidding? I find it particularly thoughtless that all these women are joking about fake pregnancies (har-har, hee-hee) for breast cancer when so many women who have gone through treatment have survived to find themselves infertile.
If you really want to help, you could take a few minutes to post articles or links to sites that offer relevant information, donate a few dollars to support an organization you believe in, or join one of those charity runs/ walks that are always popping up. I think that would do MORE to raise awareness than posting a fake-pregnancy status or a cryptic message involving your shoe size and your purse.
I completely agree. I have two friends who struggle with this very issue, and the pain they go through is so horrible. I myself had a hell of a time having a successful pregnancy and birth, and in the end, I spent five weeks in the hospital and nearly died afterward. It is the height of ignorance to joke about being pregnant, and there is nothing light about cancer.
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