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The Student News Site of Foothill Technology High School

The Foothill Dragon Press

The Student News Site of Foothill Technology High School

The Foothill Dragon Press

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An issue to keep abreast

Breast cancer has always been a popular thing to raise awareness about. There are football players with pink shoelaces on their cleats and yogurt cups with pink tops in the grocery store. However, the Keep A Breast foundation has taken this message a step further and in an effort to reach out to teenagers and college students, a new form of awareness was created. What started as a harmless spark has set ablaze a roaring wildfire as the foundation distributed their new merchandise nationwide. 

The phrase is short and simple: “I <3 boobies!” Relying heavily on its shock value, these $4 bracelets have found their way onto the wrists of both boys and girls in high schools across the country. The purpose of those words, obviously, is to raise awareness about breast cancer.

The bracelets have been receiving a lot of flak lately, however, precisely because of their content. 

On Nov. 15, 2010, The ACLU sued the Easton Area School District because they’ve been actively against the bracelets on campus. Students who refuse to take them off can face in-school suspension and be shunned from extracurricular activities, such as the school dance. Similar stories have appeared across the nation as more principals find problems with the bracelets.

Exactly what is offensive about the bracelets? The word “boobies” is probably the answer. Maybe it’s distracting, or its message is too sexualized, or maybe it perpetuates the inappropriateness of the topic. Even if it sounds silly, it’s ample ground for a concerned principal to ban the wristbands. One writer argues the point that the bracelet reduces a woman to her breasts and doesn’t take the issue seriously.

I do admit my own apprehension when I saw the bracelets the first time. Since I had no idea that it was to raise awareness for breast cancer, the obvious conclusion to make was that my friend was being tasteless with his preferences. It wasn’t until I asked them about it, however, that I really understood their purpose. Even if I had to focus my attention to actually read what the bracelet said, it wasn’t really distracting to my own attention towards the teacher.

That’s not to say that the bracelets are completely misguided, however. I’ve seen them around the campus of FTHS constantly. Personally, I don’t have a problem with them. In fact, the recent controversy surrounding them makes me want to buy one. The message hits an uncomfortable point in a person’s psyche, and that’s perfect if you want to get someone’s attention. 

Tasteless as the bracelets may be, they have served their ulterior purpose well: to raise awareness about breast cancer. A lot of media attention has been put into the issue between schools and their administrators, but it’s clear that the message is being broadcasted nationwide. The students aren’t wearing the bracelets for breasts, they are wearing them for breast cancer. And it’s working.

So dissenters may continue spouting their hatred over these bracelets and how they sexualize women and how they are offensive to women: they only serve to feed the awareness fire that’s been spreading across the nation. By making such a big fuss about it, the bracelets are now more popular than ever before. Much like with books, the best way to make someone interested in it is to ban it.

Also, I’d like to see someone come up with a better line than “I <3 boobies!” that receives both the same amount of attention as the bracelets that exist now and that are completely acceptable to school districts. I doubt that “Saving second base” would be any less offensive.
 

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Comments on articles are screened and those determined by editors to be crude, overly mean-spirited or that serve primarily as personal attacks will not be approved. The Editorial Review Board, made up of 11 student editors and a faculty adviser, make decisions on content.
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The Student News Site of Foothill Technology High School
An issue to keep abreast