Fun Buns? Err No Thanks!

It’s been several years since I posted a blog. This week’s release of the BCNA and Baker’s Delight “Pink Buns Campaign” has irked me enough to stir me outta my blogging hibernation.

BCNA and Bakers Delight have reached a new low this year with their 2019 ‘Pink Buns Campaign’.  Seeing Facebook and Instagram yesterday made me throw up in my mouth a little. 

The sight of shitty, sugar-filled, low fibre, sickly-iced, buns with absolutely no nutritional value pressed against the skin of happy, stylised, semi-naked breast cancer survivors (including one male breast cancer survivor cause, you know, men get breast cancer too) makes me cringe.  All set in front of a lovely pink background.

As of today Facebook has banned paid advertising of the campaign on the grounds of it not meeting their community standards against partial nudity. Thats a whole other topic though.  Last night, BCNA had been busy on Facebook responding to the criticism of upset survivors…

BCNA and Bakers Delight have taken great care to approach this campaign with respect and sensitivity to those with breast cancer and the wider community. Everyone pictured is living with breast cancer. The scars are real and we feel the pictures accurately depict the reality of the disease and aim to raise awareness of the importance of support.

Oh really?!!  These pictures accurately depict the reality of the disease do they?  What an insult to people living with BC! 

One of the things that has consistently pissed me off is the feminization and sexualization of this disease.  I’ve said it many times before, nothing about breast cancer is pretty or sexy.  Nothing about it is fun. So portraying it in this way to reap fundraising dollars is disrespectful to survivors and those that are living with chronic treatment induced pain, are unemployed from breast cancer, are permanently disfigured or depressed, are living day after day with this incurable disease, or have died.

Just take a look at the hastags used in this campaign…

#pinkbuns

#funbuns

#breastfriend

What if we sexualized and trivialised other cancers in the same way?  

Just imagine the outcry over pizzas slapped on the abdomens of pancreatic patients for pancreatic cancer?  Grapes dangled in front of semi-naked bodies to raise funds for lymphoma? Processed hot dogs between the legs of survivors of prostrate cancer? Lettuce leaves between the legs of naked women to increase awareness of cancer of the labia. Hashtag vulvar cancer. Hashtag lovely lettuce leaves.

How about Violet Crumbles layed on the brittle bones of naked osteoporosis sufferers?  Or McDonalds Big Macs positioned on the bodies of sick children to fundraise for The Royal Children’s Hospital McHappy Day?

Outrageous hey!  Yet the gist of this is just the same. 

Why is it acceptable to fundraise for breast cancer in this light?  Why does a reputable not-for-profit organization such as BCNA that does so much for breast cancer awareness and support need to stoop to this level of feminising and sexualising the disease in a trivial way to raise funds?

Let’s not forget the progression of this disease, the 30% of those whose breast cancer metastasizes to their bones, lungs,  brain and liver.  What does this campaign do for those stage four incurable disease? Hard to sexualise that reality in an advertisement! 

Seriously, what the actual fuck?

There are a plethora of ways you can support breast cancer fundraisers.  Don’t support the pink washed, buns out, funs out, shitty bun, ta-ta, breastploitation campaigns. 

It’s safe to say,  I won’t be buying a six-pack of fun buns or going anywhere near Baker’s Delight any time soon.