“I love boobies” is no longer just a phrase heard in a middle-school boys’ locker room: it is now part of a national campaign by the Keep A Breast Foundation. Schools across the country, however, have been trying to ban the method used to spread the message.
According to their website, the Keep A Breast Foundation’s mission is to “help eradicate breast cancer by exposing young people to methods of prevention, early detection and support.” The “I Love Boobies” campaign is one way the foundation can reach out to young people, to “speak to young people in their own language.” Bracelets bearing the slogan, “I Love Boobies” have been showing up on youths’ wrists.
On April 19, a 13-year-old girl from Silver Falls, Ore., was sent home from Mark Twain Middle School because she was wearing the “I Love Boobies” bracelets. Abby Erlandson got sent to the principal’s office due to the bracelets, where she was allowed to go back to class only after she agreed to put the bracelets in her pocket. She was sent home from school the next day when she was wearing the bracelets and refused to take them off.
The bracelets are banned in the Silverton school district because administrators believe that some students may find it difficult differentiating between the message of breast cancer awareness and the slang word for breasts.
Kids should be given a little more credit than that. At this point, the Keep A Breast Foundation’s “I Love Boobies” campaign is nationally known. Most people know the campaign is about breast cancer awareness, and if they do not, then give them a chance to ask bracelet wearers about it. Give the bracelets the chance to educate people who may make snide remarks. Let them learn that it is about breast cancer awareness.
It is important to make these messages and issues clear to youth—especially about the importance of early detection—because children as young as 10 years old have been diagnosed with breast cancer.
Breast cancer is a very prominent problem, and it is important to prevent and detect early. According to the American Cancer Society, a woman in the United States is diagnosed with breast cancer every three minutes. One in eight women will get breast cancer in their lifetime, according to Breastcancer.org.
And it is not just women who are at risk. According to the American Cancer Society, about 2,000 new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed in men, and approximately 450 men die from breast cancer each year.
Breast cancer can be detected by doing breast exams on yourself or on your partner. According to the American Cancer Society, 25 percent of all breast cancer is found by women doing their own breast examinations.
These bracelets can help get the conversation going on the topic of breast cancer. They are trendy, so if someone compliments them, it leaves the door open for the person to explain why they are wearing them or what they mean.
While the term “boobies” may be seen as offensive or derogatory to some, this is an opportunity for that connotation to change. The term boobies can now be associated with breast cancer awareness instead of something offensive.
Spreading the word about breast cancer is important, as it affects many people. The pink ribbons may be universal symbols for breast cancer awareness around adults, but these bracelets are good for reaching out to younger kids and talking to them about the very real possibility of breast cancer and the importance of early detection with self-exams. Breast cancer can be detected very early; educating younger generations on how to properly perform a self-exam, as well as the dangers of breast cancer, is critical. ?