Back in January of this year, many females on Facebook mysteriously began to update their statuses with nothing but a color. "Red." "Black." "Nude." "Pink." People were befuddled as to what the colors could mean, but ultimately the secret was revealed: ladies were posting the color of the bra they were wearing in order to raise awareness for breast cancer research. Now, because October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, females are attempting to pull the cutesy-vague status update trick again, only this time it's even stupider and has no actual logical tie to breast cancer.

Sure, the bra status updates were silly and slightly attention-whoring, but many argued that they did raise awareness for breast cancer (even if the stunt didn't actually raise any money for research). Plus, there's a logical tie of bra color to breasts, which is, derp, where this type of cancer centralizes. However, the latest giggle-giggle-tee-hee stunt is to post where you like "it," with "it" being your purse. Let me clarify -- women are supposed to post where they like to place their purse when they come home. The idea is to get status updates that read something like "I like it on the kitchen table" or "I like it on the floor," making people wonder exactly how much of a sex-crazed freak you are. But ha-ha, joke's on them, because you're not actually talking about sex, you're talking about your purse, and somehow this all relates to breast cancer! In your face, you stupid man!

This will cure cancer. No joke.

With the first viral campaign, there at least was a logical tie-in to breast cancer. Bras --> breasts --> breast cancer. What the hell does a purse have to do with breast cancer other than "Well, I keep my money in my purse, and treatment is expensive..."? Let's face it, there's no logical reason for this other than for women to pretend they're promiscuous and giggle at being in on the joke.

You're probably thinking, "Oh, stop, it's harmless fun and it raises awareness." First of all, most people are aware of breast cancer. It's one of the most aggressively marketed cancer campaigns out there. Why not start spreading awareness of colon and rectal cancer, lung cancer, or prostate cancer, all of which have potential fatality rates as high or higher than breast cancer? Is it because a butthole or a black lung isn't as sexy as a curvaceous, big breast?

"I like them pink and moist, not black and hard." See, you can be faux-dirty
with lung health too!...albeit a bit racist-sounding...

Secondly, these women raise awareness, but it's almost exclusively for other women; in fact, in their initial Facebook messages to one another, they actually specifically say to not tell any men. The bra email from January said, "Some fun is going on....just write the [color] of your bra in your status..just the [color], nothing else, and send this on to ONLY girls no men... it will be neat to see if this will spread the wings of cancer awareness," while the current purse email says, "Just put your answer as your status with nothing more than that and cut n paste this message and forward to all your FB female friends to their inbox. Let's see how powerful we women really are!!!" Breast cancer affects men too, and although it's a far smaller percentage than women, I'd argue that way more men than women are unaware that they can become afflicted with the disease. Creating these exclusionary campaigns isn't helping to spread the message to men and women, just to women.

Third, how many of these women who updated their status with their bra color or their purse's whereabouts actually donated to breast cancer research or volunteered their time at a fundraiser or clinic? Anyone can post a status update -- what about getting off your ass and actually doing something worthwhile that contributes to battling the disease? Being in on the joke is the lazy way out if you're not actively supplementing it with something real, whether that's your time or your money.

"Why would I attend a fundraiser when I can stay on the couch
and update my Facebook status?"

These breast cancer awareness campaigns have shown us how powerful an ally Facebook and social networks in general can be when it comes to spreading information about a cause, but talk is cheap. Unless these efforts morph into something bigger, people will start to equate these important causes with lazy publicity stunts that lead nowhere. Posting status updates and forwarding emails are easy, but combating cancer isn't. Don't take the easy way out. Give yourself and the cause you're fighting for more credit than that. People will respect you and the organization more if the campaign posts actual results instead of a cutesy social networking chain letter.

Some helpful links to point you in the right direction:

Donate to the National Breast Cancer Foundation or the Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation
Donate to the American Lung Association
Donate to the Prostate Cancer Foundation
Donate to the Colon Cancer Alliance or to the Colorectal Cancer Coalition

What do you think of the "I like it on..." viral marketing stunt for breast cancer awareness on Facebook?