Everywhere I look in Saskatoon I see the same photo of the same woman: a blonde with a nose ring and a fake smile on a pink background. “Breast Cancer: not just a disease of older women,” the tagline reads. It then tells us the woman was 24 years old and died of breast cancer.

I hate that ad. I hate that colour. Having that pink background hides the horrible truth that a young person died of a horrible disease. It makes the ad seem almost seductive. Take away the tagline and the woman could be pitching lipstick, antiperspirant or breath mints.

Pink. It’s bad enough that it is used to indoctrinate infants into traditional gender roles. But now it is being used as the colour for breast cancer. You can buy everything from pink clothing to pink utensils. This pink merchandise says to you the consumer, “Hey, just buy something pink and you are helping fight breast cancer.”

But the consumer is doing nothing. It’s slacktivism at its worst.

Think about pink. What do you think of? A woman whose hair is falling out because of chemotherapy? Fuck no. You think of a baby. Pink is everything breast cancer is not — cute, innocent and fun. Clearly breast cancer is none of those things. Yet companies know that covering an item in this cutesy fun colour will get them more profits from people who want to help but don’t want to think about something unpleasant like disease or death. A pink item disconnects you from the fact that people actually get breast cancer. Breast cancer becomes a commodity and a brand.

The worst pink-related thing I have seen is pink toilet paper. Yes, someone has decided to make pink toilet paper. Now what good does that do? Are you really going to think about breast cancer while you’re wiping your ass? It would make more sense to have a toilet paper related to prostate or colorectal cancer. At the very least, keep it in the same general area.

I wish I could say that I would not know anyone who would fall for this product, but I saw it at the house of a family member.

But who does this paper help? The people suffering and dying from breast cancer? The corporations, perhaps? I would say the latter. The colour pink infantilizes breast cancer, degrades the disease and those who suffer from it.

If you really want to support breast cancer, make a donation toward cancer research. Just don’t buy a package of pink toilet paper and think you are making a difference.

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Graphic: Jordan Campbell