Pink Ribbons Inc: breast cancer activism and the politics of philanthropy

Abstract

This essay explores the cultural reconfiguration of breast cancer in the United States since the 1970s. It traces how breast cancer has been transformed in public discourse from a stigmatized disease best dealt with privately and in isolation, to a neglected epidemic worthy of public debate and political organizing, to an enriching and affirming experience during which women with the disease are rarely ‘patients’ and mostly ‘survivors.’ In the latter of these configurations, survivors emerge as symbols of hope who through their courage and vitality have elicited an outpouring of philanthropy, a continued supply of which will apparently ensure that the fight against breast cancer remains an unqualified success. By examining three key sites in this shift—federal policy, breast cancer marketing and the Susan G. Komen Foundation's Race for the Cure—the essay seeks to understand how, and with what effects, this transformation has occurred.