Pink Ribbon Blues: How Breast Cancer Culture Undermines Women's Health

Contents......Page 20
ONE: WHAT IS PINK RIBBON CULTURE?......Page 26
TWO: THE DEVELOPMENT OF PINK RIBBON CULTURE......Page 50
The Breast Cancer Movement......Page 51
Medical Consumerism......Page 54
Aesthetics and Normalization......Page 58
A Cause of Epidemic Proportions, and the Rise of Pink October......Page 68
Solidarity, Fundraising, and Publicity......Page 72
Unintended Consequences......Page 80
THREE: MIXED METAPHORS: WAR, GENDER, AND THE MASS CIRCULATION OF CANCER CULTURE......Page 96
LIVESTRONG and the Masculine Ethos......Page 101
Gilda’s Club and the Feminine Ethos......Page 107
Pink Femininity......Page 112
Pink Femininity in Breast Cancer Culture......Page 117
The She-ro......Page 124
FOUR: CONSUMING PINK: MASS MEDIA AND THE CONSCIENTIOUS CONSUMER......Page 134
The Special Role of Women’s Magazines......Page 136
The Breast Cancer Audience......Page 143
Branding and the Niche Market of the Socially Aware......Page 148
Warriors in Pink......Page 152
The Breast Cancer Brand......Page 156
Fear and the Pink Menace......Page 157
Hope and Faith in Breast Cancer Awareness......Page 161
Goodness, Fundraising, and the Pink Lifestyle......Page 164
Komen’s New Logo......Page 169
FIVE: CONSUMING MEDICINE, SELLING SURVIVORSHIP......Page 180
The Breast Cancer Industry......Page 183
Disease Classification......Page 186
Medical Technology......Page 194
The Benefits of Mammography......Page 196
The Risks of Mammography......Page 204
Cost/Benefit Analysis......Page 209
Screening Programs and the Makers of the Machines......Page 212
Big Pharma......Page 218
Industry Ties to Advocacy......Page 226
Ruby’s Story......Page 248
“Becoming” a Breast Cancer Survivor: Learning the Rules......Page 252
Incorporation of the She-ro......Page 254
Rejecting the She-ro......Page 260
Feeling Rule 2: Selfishness......Page 267
She-roic Selfishness (i.e., Rational Coping Strategy)......Page 268
Selfishness as Confessional......Page 274
Feeling Rule 3: Guilt......Page 280
The Inadequate She-ro......Page 281
Embodied Social Stigma......Page 284
Family Disruption......Page 287
Conclusion......Page 290
SEVEN: THE BALANCING ACT......Page 296
Taking Care of Myself......Page 300
The Balancing Act......Page 310
Setting Boundaries......Page 311
Accepting Help......Page 317
Asking for Help......Page 323
Balancing the Sisterhood......Page 328
Final Thoughts......Page 333
EIGHT: SHADES OF PINK......Page 338
The Limiting Nature of Words......Page 340
Narrating One’s Illness......Page 344
Realism and Transcendent Subversion......Page 349
The Picture Outside the Frame......Page 358
The Terrible Stories......Page 361
NINE: RETHINKING PINK RIBBON CULTURE......Page 380
“Not Just Ribbons”......Page 389
“Think Before You Pink”......Page 392
A......Page 404
B......Page 405
C......Page 407
D......Page 409
E......Page 410
F......Page 411
G......Page 412
I......Page 413
L......Page 414
M......Page 416
N......Page 417
O......Page 418
P......Page 419
R......Page 420
S......Page 421
T......Page 423
W......Page 424
Z......Page 425