Cop a Feel - new advert

Pinkification in the breast cancer world is specifically to do with companies and sometimes the charities themselves that latch onto Breast Cancer Awareness month every October and offer products, services, events etc. The worst make only a minimal or even no donation to breast cancer charities. It’s a very good way for charities to raise funds and many breast cancer survivors will want to take part for that reason. It’s a good way also for unscrupulous companies to jump on the bandwagon and produce something in pink and claim they are “raising awareness”. The naysayers will say that pink and fluffy fun is not what a breast cancer is like. It’s a brutal and ugly disease with brutal and ugly treatments that will eventually kill about a third of people who discover it at an early “curable” stage.

Coppafeel has been around for donkeys years. It’s a charity just to get people to check their chests for changes. That’s it.

There are many campaigns to get people to do this. Some are very polite and refined “Please check your breasts every month” messaging from the NHS and Breast Cancer Now and so if you find the coppafeel tag lines offensive then you can just adhere to the advice in those other types of campaign. You will be checking the same breasts in the same way as the Coppafeel suggests that you do.

Coppafeel has a monthly text or email messaging service that reminds you to check yourself. Do sign up. That service literally saved my life. Cancer doesn’t care if you copped a feel or examined your breasts. It will still try to kill you.

Only if you buy into the gender nonsense about pink being for girls and blue being for boys I suppose.

'I can't imagine any charity saying 'We're bringing back buggery' or similar for a prostate cancer check'

Exactly. 'Up yer arse' for being prostate cancer aware or 'grope me' for other self examination advice. Just grim and inappropriate.

Wow. Those campaigns really are grim. I see the Daily Mail article on 'Don't keep 'em crossed' mentions Mumsnet users' ire, and also 'Coppafeel'.

Do they really not realise how off-putting it is for women to have medical procedures conflated with being sexual?? What's next? Comparing transvaginal ultrasounds to getting a good shag? "Get a proper seeing to at your next TVU"?

I can't imagine any charity saying 'We're bringing back buggery' or similar for a prostate cancer check.

As for why it's 'more acceptable' with young people, I imagine that's because it's when society wants them to sexualise and objectify themselves. No one cares if 49-year-old, dried-up old Karen objectifies herself 😕

The ad I heard yesterday literally did say breasts, chests and pecs.

'It's aimed at young people' is a shitty excuse.

Why is it more OK to objectify women if they are young?

There was one called Drop Your Pants in 2021

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-guernsey-57398345

And in 2023 one called Don't Keep 'Em Crossed

https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-12769993/cervical-cancer-awareness-advertisement-airbrushes-women-out.html

Utterly grim.

Ugh, yes. I can imagine a charity doing just that, sadly. I hate the infantilisation and pinkification of women's issues – it's demeaning. I don't understand why people are defending 'cop a feel', and Gen Z don't find that kind of language funny, in my experience. My teenager and her friends would think it was distasteful and be less likely to engage.

As you say, it seems like the edgy, internalised misogyny of a 90s ladette.

Yes

The cervix cancer sister charity suggest going to the doctor if you have "hip" pain after "special cuddles" and gives you a sticker that says "I 'ad a good ol' poke on the doctors bench" for after your smear test

You know, for inclusive awareness...
Because that's the catch all excuse now for talking down to women about women's health issues

Is their sister cervical smear charity 'You need a good poke"?

I love how misogyny just pervades every inch of our society. Even when people are talking about cancer, they're reminding women that they're just sexual objects to be groped. It's offensive.

I have asthma, and you’ve summed up exactly what I think about when I hear ‘check your chest’ - thank you

TBF toddler pink and bubble writing and watering down adult health topics into cartoons, doesn't feel like it's for grown ass women either!

I think because a lot of the setup for breast cancer is geared up around women, which makes sense in a lot of respects as it's mainly women affected. But as a male who's diagnosed you might feel out of place and possibly like the service isn't for you - going in to a pink room underlines that and might make you feel like an after thought or oddity.

There’s some unhappiness about the “pinkification” of breast cancer. It’s not going away any time soon, though.

They get it in their breast tissue, just like women do.

Why did the colour being pink matter?

Young adults can be spoken to like adults about serious topics. They're not toddlers.

It's not youth language, it's how the likes of Fern Cotton and Geovanna Fletcher types think that youths chat. Bants innit. Oo boobies.

This. It’s also aimed at a younger audience (people who wouldn’t be as tuned in to health / checks) and younger audiences today respond better to different language.

You’re right! They are only using “chest” to be so called inclusive. I see it as pandering to gender ideology. Otherwise they would just stick to breast and make clear both sexes have breasts. (And identity has nowt to do with it).

Cutsied it is.

Thanks so much just set up a reminder and I love the 'self checkout' style advice have been meaning to get better at checking

Sounds like the advert got your attention so by some definition it works!

Also you've now told all of us so its far more effective than if they weren't rage baiting you. Doesn't bother me I'm afraid, it's obvious what they mean

Like I said, they used to be a good charity & I used to support them and subscribed to their notifications

They've lost the plot and their language is not aimed at today's younger adults at all, it's patronising baby talk nonsense aimed at what the NOT young people involved in it NOW think sounds youthful, but it comes out like a cross between 00s The Girly Show, and an out of touch corporations attempt at pride month.

Coppafeel has saved countless lives and spread huge awareness.

Their aim is to promote the message of checking and self advocating to young people. This follows the founders early diagnosis, at 23. The language used is aimed at young people- who are at risk of either not having the knowledge to empower themselves and check their chests (yes, chests) or are sadly more likely to be fobbed off as being too young for breast cancer.

Like many things, as science evolves, more is known and sometimes the initially used language no longer works as well. Breast cancer can be found in the armpits and neck too. Stating check your breasts would not cover the full area required to check. Listing areas would not be a slogan but a sentence.

The founder, Kris, died 15 years after her diagnosis and in that time created huge awareness in the general and medical fields of how young people of any gender/race can have a cancer diagnosis. Not only that, she created communities of support, friendships and mutual understanding and wanted to ensure that people seek early treatment…so they can live.

I hope that regardless of your opinion on the language used, this thread serves as a reminder to check your cheats regularly, to become familiar with your normal and to seek help if you notice any changes. Oh and maybe even sign up to Coppafeel ‘s free monthly text reminder to ‘feel it on the first’ 😉