Show respect at the Booby Wall

There are a lot of breasts on the internet, but there’s nothing like this. In support of Rethink Breast Cancer, Schick Quattro for Women launched the Booby Wall, a virtual, interactive exhibit of breasts designed to educate Canadian women about early breast cancer detection by encouraging them to show their breasts some TLC.
The Booby Wall was created to bring Rethink’s Touch. Look. Check. (TLC) early detection program to life. Women across Canada are encouraged to touch and look at their breasts and then take a picture of their breasts to upload to the Booby Wall. This online gallery is designed to remind women about the importance of breast health.

“The traditional ways of encouraging women to check their breasts are not working. We hear from many women that they are not checking their breasts regularly because they are not sure how or when and they’re scared of what they might find,” said MJ DeCouteau, Executive Director, Rethink Breast Cancer. “The Booby Wall is a bold and unique way to engage women with a serious message—that women should get to know their breasts as an important step in the early detection of breast cancer.”
Breast cancer is the leading cause of death in young women between the ages of 15 and 40, according to Rethink, and nearly one-quarter of all breast cancers occur in women under age 50.
However, when breast cancer is caught early, the five-year survival rate for young women is 82 percent, it said.

DeCouteau said the wall is secure, anonymous and completely confidential, although participants can add their first name, comments or a dedication to a loved one lost to breast cancer.
She said the site will likely attract the online social networking generation, but she isn’t worried about peeping toms.
“We really believed the benefit of getting information out to young women outweighed any men who were checking it out for their own reasons,” DeCouteau said.

Booby Wall website: www.boobywall.ca

Related post: Show yours some TLC

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Like many feminists, I’m wary of corporate-sponsored breast awareness sites, particularly those that involve a product (ladies razors) that promote ideologies about hairless femininity that can get pretty sexist.  For more on previous controversies involving breast cancer social marketing in the feminist blogosphere see several postings on I Blame the Patriarchy (including this classic: http://blog.iblamethepatriarchy.com/2006/10/01/boobython/) and Feminist Law Professors.