Posted on 09/03/2010 2:43:38 AM PDT by Daffynition
A 1-inch thick rubber bracelet has caused quite a stir in schools across the country, despite the positive message its wearers believe it sends.
The bracelets say "I [heart] Boobies" and are part of a nationwide campaign launched several months ago to make young people more aware of breast cancer.
The Clovis Unified School District in central California is one of the latest to ban the bracelets. District spokeswoman Kelly Avants told ABCNews.com they violate the school's dress code.
"We have an existing dress code that specifically states clothing, jewelry or accessories with sexually suggestive language or images is not allowed at school, said Avants. A number of other school districts require students to flip the bracelets inside out so the word "boobies" is not visible.
Despite some schools' cracking down on the bracelets, students have been vocal about the novelty items on blogs and other sites such as Facebook, saying they want to wear them in support of what they believe is a good cause.
On one of several Facebook pages dedicated to the bracelets, one student wrote, "I wear like 47 boobie bracelets, supportin' cancer research is the way to go!" Another student wrote, "[T]o all the principals who think it's PERVERTED for us to wear them, its [sic] called THE FIRST AMENDMENT."
[snip]
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
the students should be allowed to express their love of birds. The Blue-Footed Boobie is a lovely species.
If the group would have just put “Help Fight Cancer” than this would not be an issue, but the group just had to get “creative” and that is what the result is. Can’t necessarily blame the school.
As someone who has had breast cancer, I support the students in this. Breasts are not just to be sexualized, they are body parts, and their purpose is to nourish babies. This is ridiculous on the school’s part. Good grief. “boobies.” OMG.
"A bracelet is not going to educate anybody," said Naz Sykes, executive director of the foundation. "There has to be an educational component to go with it."
From the group’s website:
Lately we’ve been getting lot’s of letters. Mainly from proud parents, supporting their rad kids, who are standing up for what they believe in, or from teenagers who are pissed at their administration for telling them they can’t support something they believe in, and even letters from angry principals and parents calling us perverted.
The entire idea of the campaign is to take this serious horrible subject, break the ice, and make it easy to talk about. We tell all the principals that this is actually their OPPORTUNITY, to talk to their students about an issue that effects them and is important to them, take this opportunity to educate your students on how they can prevent breast cancer.
THANK YOU to all of you, who are standing up, and telling your schools, you have freedom of speech, and freedom to support causes that are important to you.
The slogan for this campaign is “Feel Your Boobies.”
Wonder how they’d feel about the rad Pro-Life kids wearing wrist bands to show they support “something they really believe in?”
I love boobies too.
I always get the urge to roll up a newspaper when I hear an offended teenager claim First Amendment rights.
Schools can and should have the authority to enforce a dress code, as long as such enforcement is done fairly.
“Boobsalot, boobsalot, boobsalot, boobsalot,
“I like boobsalot, boobsalot, boobsalot......”
;^)
The word for that female body part is BREASTS. It isn’t hooters, boobies, t*ts, ta-tas or any other “cute” word. To me, it doesn’t educate people but minimizes the tragedy of BREAST cancer. A woman can DIE from this disease. Minimizing the seriousness of an illness only ignores the true tragedy. Just a thought
Heart disease kills far more women than breast cancer...this is all about fundraising. What about prostate cancer? Where's their little bracelets?
Can't have that...
This and “Save the ta-tas” are the worst. I can’t imagine having cancer and seeing a bunch of yahoos parading around with bracelets and bumper stickers that are fixated on saving a certain body part — why? because they “heart” it? — rather than showing any concern whatsoever for the fact that I have cancer.
Talk about objectification. Breast cancer is not about boobies or ta-tas. It is about life and death.
The immature attitude displayed in these “awareness” campaigns is uncivilized and degrading to human dignity. Would a similar campaign be accepted for testicular cancer awareness? How about for anal cancer? What about a “I heart penises” campaign for erectile dysfunction or prostrate cancer awareness?
I’ve had a good friend die of breast cancer and I cringe thinking about how it might have made her feel to be riding around town and see bumper stickers saying “save the ta-tas,” as if her breasts — and especially “saving” them, this to a woman who had had a double masectomy — were the only thing at stake in her situation.
I'm going to take advice on breast cancer from idiots that can't use punctuation properly...as for 'rad'? Isn't that short for 'radical'? We need more of that... (rolls eyes)
I respect your opinion, but I also vehemently disagree. This has nothing to do with the word “boobies.” It has to do with a focus on body parts alone (and, yes, a rather crass focus), rather than on the real issue, which is cancer.
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