Earlier this semester in my disability studies class we talked about how people who are ignorant about disabilities are prone to staring at individuals who do not appear normal. One of the examples that we had was about an ad from Viacom that never became published as it has a spread very similar to Victoria’s Secret and shows a beautiful woman with her mastectomy scar visible. I will not post the picture here. I do not find anything offensive about the photo, but I do not want to upset readers if they do not wish to see it. If you do you can find it here, you have to scroll down a little.
I think the advertisement should have been published and is very informational. It shows that women can be beautiful even if they are missing a breast, both breasts, or have a scar or two from their breast cancer. Women should not be shamed by society to have perfect breasts or that having no breasts diminishes them as being a woman. The advertisement also mocks the standards of beauty that Victoria Secret creates by stating at the top of the photo in all caps and a very large font, “Its no secret society is obsessed with breasts.” I really thought that this statement hit a home run, as not onl
y does the layout with the model mock the Victoria’s Secret catalogue but also mocks the name of Victoria’s Secret and how its not a “secret” that breasts are very popular in society. The only other sentence in the advertisement reads, “But what are we doing about breast cancer?” and is placed below the first sentence in a much smaller text.
The question posed is a very good one. I am not aware of this advertisement’s publication date, but it was probably from the year 2000. I feel that the question about how much is being done for breast cancer is not as prevalent for today as there is much research and fund raising for breast cancer, but during that time there was not as much activism. Regardless, I still feel that Viacom makes some strong points from this advertisement in the fact that society is obsessed with breasts and that this is still relevant today. I bet that if this ad was going to be published right now in 2014, it probably would never be published as the woman’s lack of having a breast and it being visible would be “offensive” to people. As much as people say they are supportive of breast cancer most people would not want to see the aftermath of a survivor.
I for one think the woman in the picture is beautiful and that having only one breast does not make her any less of a woman or affect her beauty. Do you think that this advertisement would still be band today as it is offensive as it shows a woman without a breast, as this goes against society’s norms of what a woman should be? Do you think if
http://www.robcares.com Viacom were to publish this today it would make people uncomfortable but also promote breast cancer awareness? I for one think that this advertisement would probably not be published in regular print magazines or the television but could be published through the Internet and social media and makes its way to people. I also think that this ad would make many people uncomfortable, but would make people realize that women can still be beautiful without breasts and that both men and women can survive breast cancer. I would love to hear your feedback!
ShoutOut! James Madison University 
I almost wish you would have shown the picture because it is a photo that I believe people should see. I do commend you for thinking of others feelings, but at the same time, the ad has already been hidden from the public and you have your space to make it visible. I really appreciate you for doing a post about this because I feel like it ties into the whole thing of breast cancer awareness being hyper sexual with phrases such as “save the ta-tas.” Great post!
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Bestelittlelion92 thank you for your reply. I understand why you want me to put the picture up. I just felt that this is an academic blog and we have various viewers that I needed to be more conservative and not put the ad up. If this were a non academic blog I would not care about if I offended someone or not. But I do agree with you that the ad should not be offensive at all. I also like how you brought up how breast cancer is sexaulized a lot in its marketing like your save the ta-tas example. But breast cancer affects both men and women so it really shouldn’t be sexaulized. It is interesting to note that prostate cancer is not sexaulized at all. Thanks for your feedback!
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This is a great post. There is NO reason why a woman should ever be embarrassed that she has survived breast cancer, even if she no longer has breast. And for society to even have that norm to put more stres on these women is ridiculous. My grandmother had breast cancer. She had to have a mastectomy, but she’s cancer free!! So why should anything else matter? I’ve seen a video where a women is proud of her scares and beating breast cancer and gets a beautiful tattoo across her whole chest to represent her strength! Which I absolutely loved!
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Steelba thanks for your comment. It is upsetting that women who are survivors of breast care condemned in the idea that breasts are more important than lives. My grandmother was a survivor of breast cancer too. Thank you for sharing the example of a survivor getting her chest tattooed, proving that life goes on and women are more than just their breasts.
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