Should we be asking girls to "get your tits out for the girls"?

1/12/2010

There was widespread discussion about the ''I like..." Facebook craze last month. While I felt that this campaign sexualised breast cancer in a weird kinda way, NZ Girl's latest campaign has left me (nearly) speechless. Viewers are invited to "get your tits out for the girls!... and don't forget to check out the other lovely pairs, beautiful boobs and pretty titties already uploaded."

For every 50 pairs of "titties" uploaded by viewers, NZGirl will donate $1000 to breast cancer awareness. This campaign began yesterday and already there is a gallery of over 49 pairs of breasts to peruse, rank and comment on.

Hmm, a gallery of "titties" ranked according to popularity and the ability for me to leave comments about them. How exactly is this different to a crude pornography site?

NZGirl is exploiting women and girls in order to drive traffic to their website. It is making light of an horrific disease in order to gain popularity. It is belittling the experience of breast cancer sufferers, many of whom are left scarred or who have had to have their breasts removed. But in marketing terms, this campaign has been a resounding success - over 25,000 people visited the site this morning, crashing it.

Boganette has written a great post on why NZGirl's campaign is oh-so-wrong: "Celebrate breasts, of course. But don't do it in the name of breast cancer. Breast cancer isn't about breasts. It's not something you should have a laugh about on Twitter. It's not something you should joke about on Facebook. It shouldn't be a reason for posting photos of your breasts or flashing them or 'getting them out'... Breast cancer is a horrible, miserable, horrifying disease - that's it. It's cancer - it's not motivation for you to be happy with your body."

I hate the pretty-fying of breast cancer. The sexy-fying of breast cancer. Breast cancer is not sexy images of pert wee breasts. If you want to see the realities of breast cancer, check out The Scar Project. It's raw and it's real. There is nothing funny about it.

According to Stuff: NZgirl editor and general manager Tee Twyford said the campaign wasn't about driving traffic to their site, but about raising awareness. "The reason for it was twofold. There was a desire to have readers feel really good about their breasts and we wanted to align it with a breast cancer cause to get greater awareness and funding," Twyford said.

So, according to Tee Twyford, women need to share photos of their breasts with the world in order to feel good about themselves. We all need to seek external validation to make sure that our breasts are up to scratch, that they're OK. Dear Tee, please explain how being in the lower half of the rankings is going to help 50% of those women feel good about their breasts? Because Tee, in a rankings system, there is always a loser. And for the 'winners' in the top half of the rankings, are they supposed to feel great about themselves because a whole bunch of strangers have critiqued their breasts and given them a thumbs-up?

Tee Twyford, I am not going to send your website a photo of my breasts. They are beautiful and I love them. But I don't need NZGirl to rank them and I don't need strangers to give me their comments about them. Because those strangers don't know that my breasts and I have been through lots together. Those strangers don't know or care that my breasts fed my baby and that I love them in all their uneven, stretch-marky, increasingly-less-pert glory. Or that it took me quite some time to learn to love them.

Disturbingly, but not surprisingly, many of the breast photos that have been uploaded seem to be of teenagers. Through Enlighten Education I work with teen girls throughout New Zealand. I often have tears of sadness when talking with them about the immense pressures they face with regards to their body. New Zealand's rates of eating disorders and depression amongst teenagers are skyrocketing. Just yesterday I spent a morning with 150 gorgeous year 10 girls who all told me that they felt that they were not beautiful enough, not skinny enough and not perfect enough. It is campaigns such this one that add to the overwhelming pressure and sense for girls that they are just not enough. As soon as I have posted this I am going to email Tee Twyford to invite her to sit in on one of these sessions. Perhaps then she would realise the effects that such media campaigns have on our girls.

Once photos are uploaded on to the internet, the owners cease to have any control over how they are used. To assume that these photos will not be used for pornographic purposes is naive. We teach girls to never upload compromising photos of themselves - why is a (previously) respected website encouraging them to do exactly this?

Women, why are we doing this to each other? Are men rushing to upload photos of their penis to raise money for "cancer awareness"?

NZGirl, if your motivation really is to raise money for breast cancer research I can think of a million more positive ways to do this. Even simpler: if you really want to donate to a good cause, just get out your credit card and donate. Simple.

31 Comments

Boganette link

1/12/2010 07:29:47 am

Brilliant post. That really sums up how I feel about the whole issue. Thank-you! The ranking system is particularly shocking to me. With all the PR-spin about loving 'breasts of all shapes and sizes' the top-rated breasts are all very socially acceptable, pert, perfect ones. Funny that!

Hannah link

1/12/2010 07:50:20 am

wonderful wonderful post, im goignt o spread it around x

Genevieve link

1/12/2010 08:07:40 am

Fantastic post, you have nailed what I find distasteful about this "campaign". When I saw the tweets about this yesterday, I honestly thought it was some dogey. smutty group dare or something. yeah that really raised awareness. Not. I also agree, if you want to help, donate, no way I'm silly enough to send in a free porn shot to a website!

Tanya

1/12/2010 08:09:58 am

Rachel, how do you now that "Disturbingly, but not surprisingly, many of the breast photos that have been uploaded seem to be of teenagers." ? Mine are up there, and I'm 34yrs old. Thank you if you think they look like a teenagers. Love Headless Rack xx

Sarah

1/12/2010 08:32:43 am

If I'm going to upload a picture of my breasts to the internet for men to masturbate over, someone sure as hell better be paying me.

A $20 donation to "breast cancer awareness"? Yeah? How much are they making in ad revenue?

Rachel Hansen link

1/12/2010 01:44:44 pm

@Genevieve - yes, it seems that these photos have already made their way to a porn site - http://www.xtube.com/set.php?s=syz3c0BYw9N (link courtesy of Boganette)
@Sarah - yes, and I am sure that not one of those women uploading their breast photos will receive a cent for all the times their breasts are transferred to porn sites!

@Tanya, I don't think you are a "headless rack". No woman is. Yes, unfortunately there are breasts of all ages on the nzgirl site - and now also on porn sites :( I am just really sad because I believe that no woman uploading her photo to that site intended that to happen.

stef link

2/12/2010 02:07:36 am

There's no way to pretty it up, I have a deformed chest and shit like this is part of the reason it took me a long time to become comfortable with who I am.

But what bothers me the most about this campaign is that the stories of the women who have suffered from breast cancer have been lost in this 'awareness raising' campaign. Especially the stories of those who are no longer here to tell them.

Craig

2/12/2010 03:20:59 am

If sending in pictures of your favorite summer BBQ meal generated money for starving African kids, i would not have a problem. You have to be less emotional and more business like, its impairing your judgement over what really matters here. Guys are going to perv all over the place anyway, if you can tap into that resource and even turn half of it into something useful, why not? I am willing to accept there may be some moral ambiguity here yet you are being arrogant and bone-headed up on your high-horse.

2/12/2010 03:34:54 am

Craig, your sense of logic is astounding. Morals are still important, even in business situations. "Guys are going to perv all over the place anyway, if you can tap into that resource and even turn half of it into something useful, why not?" What, so maybe a group of women should turn to prostitution in order to raise money for breast cancer, because we're taping into a resource right? In every situation, be it business or whatever, there has to be STANDARDS. Exploiting girls to raise money should never be deemed appropriate! Especially when there are a MILLION other ways to raise just as much money for breast cancer without exploitation.

2/12/2010 04:03:14 am

Voluntarily uploading a simple face-less picture of your boobies to generate $20 for the breast cancer society is hardly prostitution. Your rebuttal comes across pretty black and white. Sure full body nudes and penetration would be off-limits but there are grey areas. I'm not denying that a simple donation would be much more noble. But if it came to this or nothing, I would choose this.

2/12/2010 04:11:35 am

By the way, 'Moral ambiguity' does not imply a disregard for morals, business or otherwise. It simply means its pretty subjective, you deem this hole farce 'bad', i am unattached and really couldn't care less. But the end result is a small monetary gain for the cancer society with a healthy dose of awareness. Are sufferers really going to stay up at night because a few more girls uploaded pictures of themselves to the net?

2/12/2010 04:30:53 am

What 'healthy dose of awareness' would that be Craig?

If you couldn't care less how come you're devoting so much time to trolling websites about it?

2/12/2010 04:44:16 am

Couldn't care less about the tits being on display. I was not referring to breast cancer there.

I just dont see how this does any more damage than it does good, its an opinion and pretty subjective one considering 'greater good for society' theories are usually pretty biased. I'm trolling because i dont respond well to feminazi ranting in general.

2/12/2010 06:23:41 am

Craig, I don't know why you find opinionated women intimidating but that's really something you should talk to your therapist about. We don't really have time to help you with your emotional issues. Ok buddy? Run along.

2/12/2010 06:34:33 am

Thanks for all the comments people.

I am wondering if nzgirl are worried about the legal implications of this. Their T&Cs state: "if you are under 18 and you decide to post or send personal information to us or to other areas on the Internet, make sure you ask your parents if it’s okay.” Regardless of parental permission, it is illegal to host sexual images of children on websites. And some of the images are certainly sexual.

@Craig - As you even admit you are trolling, I would ask you to refrain from such trolling and the personal attacks. It's just not nice. Head outside into the sun and fresh air and find a happy place.

Margaret

2/12/2010 07:38:45 am

I am so proud of you Rachel speaking out on behalf of so many girls and women who have such difficulty in accepting the natural beauty of their own bodies and their own souls. That NZ Girl needs to stoop to treating our breasts as a commodity in order to promote breast cancer awareness flies in the face of any logic let alone consider the pain and anguish faced daily by so many sufferers of breast cancer.

Andrew

2/12/2010 02:27:21 pm

Is it not unreasonable to believe that some women may perhaps feel a sense of empowerment, pride or perhaps closure in being able to publish in anonymity a part of their anatomy that they may associate with emotions such as shame, pride or embarrassment. Surely women should have the option and the chance to publish their breasts or not, the point being that there is a choice. I think the key is to protect an individuals autonomy. I do believe that in the case of this webiste the ability to rank and leave comments relating to womens breasts impacts negatively on what may be a particularly rewarding exercise for some women.

2/12/2010 02:28:44 pm

I just read a beautiful post about this topic - http://30daysofkate.wordpress.com/2010/12/02/my-two-cents/
It is calm and reasonable. A lot of people have got very angry about this issue - not that this is 'wrong' per se, but I found it really strengthening to read this heart-felt post. I really hope the girls at nzgirl read it and listen.

2/12/2010 02:31:51 pm

FYI - Conceptually this is effective and potentially positive however the execution lacks insight and is flawed.

2/12/2010 02:46:07 pm

@Andrew - thanks for your thoughts! Yes some women I am sure have found empowerment through uploading images of their breasts, and I would not judge someone on this.

I think that nzgirl has just not thought this through - if they had a tick box on the website that said: “If you upload this photo then we will donate $5 to ‘breast cancer awareness’ and your photo will probably appear on an unlimited number of porn sites, forever” – how many women would have gone ahead and uploaded photos? (I have seen the same photos on numerous heinous porn sites this evening). I imagine there would be some pretty upset women/partners/children/fathers about this.

I am sure that this was never the intention of nzgirl, or of the women who send in breast photos, but that's the reality of the internet and nzgirl had a moral obligation to ensure their readers were fully informed of the implications.

Furthermore, if I were nzgirl I would be very worried about the legal implications of hosting sexual photos of children (under 18s). I am no legal expert but from what I can access on the Ministry of Justice website, they are on rather shakey ground.

As a positive, I just hope this whole sordid affair has made people more aware of the oh-so-public nature of the internet and that once you have uploaded a photo of yourself to the internet, you have no control over where it ends up.

Louisa link

3/12/2010 12:06:43 am

Hi Rachel

Our take.
http://bellybeyond.blogspot.com/2010/12/nzgirl-breast-scandal.html

Re: Kate's post, this a different argument again and I will respond to Kate personally.

Naomi

3/12/2010 01:28:35 pm

Rachel, you did fantastic tonight. Completely agree with all your points.

LadyNews link

3/12/2010 02:53:51 pm

Hi Rachel,

Just saw the close up episode (recorded from earlier), and I was impressed with how reasonable and composed you were in the face of Jenene's talking over you and trying to just shout you down with her weak justifications. Thank you so much!

Really Mad

4/12/2010 12:24:43 am

NZgirl has claimed that they are rotating the “favourites”. However, I have checked the site a number of times in the past 24 hours and the same breasts have been rated number one all day today: a perky youthful pair that are the result of a breast enlargement operation. The age of the person in the photo is indicated by her final comment: “As my Mum put it, ‘they were meant to be yours.’”...... Rachel - those ones are the directors BTW...

Elizabeth

4/12/2010 12:47:36 am

You did brilliantly in the close-up interview. The opening pre-recorded piece was very biased in favour of NZgirl and those viewers watching without any other knowledge might have initially been convinced that the campaign was okay (the photos they chose were not representative but most on the site couldn't have been shown on TV ....). However, you came in strongly and got across arguments that showed up the campaign and NZgirl for what it is - a blatant exploitive marketing exercise.

4/12/2010 09:24:40 am

Jenene Freer has just stated that "And just in case anyone wonders, and to clear up the "marketing ploy", I will never enter this into any marketing awards."
So, companies only run marketing campaigns to win awards? Funny that, I understood that marketing campaigns were about increasing revenue.
So the increased advertising revenue they have gained from all the webtraffic will also be donated?

Carl link

4/12/2010 10:12:25 am

Essentially, many of you are saying breasts should not be seen for any reason. I don't follow your reasoning, because I don't believe you are self-consistent.
(a) How many of you wear, or have worn, a bikini in public? Why did you wear one? How old were you when you first wore one? From your comments, it sounds like you would never do such a thing because someone might think you are attractive.
(b) Do you think the Venus de Milo statue is scandalous? Do you think it is sexual? Is sexual the same as pornographic? What if Venus was 15, would it no longer be art?
(c) Do you boycott products that use attractive women in their advertising?
(d) Do you watch movies beyond PG-13, or read books with sexual situations? If you do, aren't you agreeing the context of the presentation of a sexual situation can be acceptable?
(e) Do you believe your opinion is the only acceptable opinion?
(f) Did you know some mastectomy survivors post their reconstructed breasts on the nzgirl website?

I'm only asking, do you really believe showing one's breasts is **always** a bad thing?

4/12/2010 01:38:44 pm

@Carl, thanks for your reasonable questions. I will do my best to answer them. Any others, do feel free to answer them in your own way!

(a) How many of you wear, or have worn, a bikini in public? Why did you wear one? How old were you when you first wore one? From your comments, it sounds like you would never do such a thing because someone might think you are attractive.

I can only speak for myself, but yes I wear bikinis most the time when I swim. I wear them as it's not socially acceptable and sometime illegal to swim naked. However when I am at a secluded or nudist-friendly spot, I swim naked. Hmm, I was probably about 17 when I first wore a bikini. I think people can be attractive regardless of what they are (or are not) wearing.

(b)Do you think the Venus de Milo statue is scandalous? Do you think it is sexual? Is sexual the same as pornographic? What if Venus was 15, would it no longer be art?

I think the Venus de Milo statue is beautiful. I don't think I would describe her as 'sexual statue' but perhaps some people would. Sexual is definitely very different to pornographic. At university I was a life art model and the paintings/sculptures of me naked were beautiful art. I couldn't imagine anyone describing them as pornographic.

(c)Do you boycott products that use attractive women in their advertising?
Boycotting stuff takes great discipline, and to a certain extent I try my best to boycott products and companies that clash with my values, and I wish I could say I was more consistent about this. But boycotting all companies with attractive women in their ads? - why?

(d) Do you watch movies beyond PG-13, or read books with sexual situations? If you do, aren't you agreeing the context of the presentation of a sexual situation can be acceptable?
Affirmative to the first two questions. I also teach sexuality education so am extremely comfortable discussing sexual issues, anatomy etc. Absolutely agree - the context of any sexual situation is very important.

(e) Do you believe your opinion is the only acceptable opinion?
It was a pretty heated debate last night! I love a good debate, and this is obviously a topic Jenene and I both feel passionately about. In this particular instance I believe nzgirl have run a spectacular marketing campaign for themselves, but that they have also caused a lot of harm and hurt.

(f) Did you know some mastectomy survivors post their reconstructed breasts on the nzgirl website?

Of course, as well as men and women in t-shirts. If they are happy about that and that's their choice, and if they have been empowered by that then that is great. As I have said, I am not speaking for those women. I am speaking out for the many people who have been humiliated,exploited, degraded and offended by this campaign.
(And I would note that these mastectomy survivors are unlikely to be the ones who are providing free fodder for porn sites, it's also likely they are not under 18).

Our bodies are amazing and beautiful and I wish our society was more able to deal with sexual issues in a positive and loving way. This is what drives all my teaching and I think that's pretty clear from my website.

As you said, everything needs to be considered in context. With regards to you last question - "do you really believe showing one's breasts is **always** a bad thing?" - I think "showing" is an odd term to use. Kind of schoolchild "I'll show you mine if you show me yours", and a little voyeuristic. I don't think I would ever "show" someone my breasts - share - yes, and certainly lots of people have seen my breasts, but I can't think of a time when I would "show" them. But I do know that some people enjoy a more "showing" context, and if they are adults and fully aware of all the implications, and they are freely choosing to, then that is really up to them.

Long answer, but I hope that clarified things for you Carl. I think I will write a follow-up blog post tomorrow and then get focussed back to 'normal' work on Monday. Thanks to all the countless beautiful emails and messages of support. And for those of you that have argued fairly against me, I respect you for making a stand for what you believe in.

Stef link

4/12/2010 04:27:37 pm

well done on close up. I thought you did a bang-up job.

mark link

5/12/2010 02:51:30 am

I think this is another over reaction to a light hearted good natured fundraiser. Such over reactions often have the effect of publicizing the very thing the complainants don't want in public in the first place and this is exactly what happened and why this campaign is such a successful one for NZ Girl. With many large foreign newspapers websites running this story and the NZ media going ballistic on it NZ Girl can only be said to be have been successful in their marketing and also have raised a large amount of awareness for the cause and not to mention the money they will be donating. This foray will die down but there will be another maybe a person will do something slightly edgy or inappropriate or a company will again leverage off the male or female body for a charity... and yet again there will be another outcry by the same people who go about their days knocking the positive endeavors of others. Maybe there could be a similar one for male testicular cancer? somehow I don't think many people will be rushing to that site.

Gravey

16/12/2010 03:41:23 pm

Sorry for the really late comment.

Quite apart from the obvious, that you have commented on so well, the thing that made my skin crawl was the "voting" and commenting.

So they are effectively saying "Post photos of your tits and we'll let anonymous people vote on how great they are". Just ick. Extreme ick.

As I said on Boganette's blog, I love breasts. I think the female form is the utmost in beauty. Hell, the naked human form in general (male or female) is sublime. The Scar Project gallery is also beautiful. It still depicts the human body, but it also depicts the strength of spirit in facing adversity. So for me (and most) it isn't about the display of breasts.

The thing that gets me angry about all these sort of issues is how people say "if you don't like it, don't watch". Such people spectacularly fail to understand that it is so much more than just about "you" or "me". As if closing your eyes makes something go away.

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Should we be asking girls to "get your tits out for the girls"?

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