Is it me or is this offensive?

I think the movie "An Officer and a Gentleman" started it all with Debra Wingers (?) "bodacious ta tas".

Beesie, you made me laugh... very funny. Like most, I feel it's offensive, especially in a doc's office. It' is so much more than about breasts -- it is about lives. The other thing is like others have said, it objectifies us -- as someone who lost her breasts to this disease, it is hurtful ...... While I think I still have a good sense of humour, I find it hard to find anything funny about breast cancer.

It's offensive.

Lago....well said

Well, I'm 10 years younger than Lisa and I find the phrase offensive. (Maybe that means we're both old?)

I do owe some of you an apology, and it might as well be offered here in this thread.  Awhile back, on the "dumb things" thread I think, there was a flurry of posts offering funny suggestions for campaigns against genital cancers in men (prostate, testicular, etc.).  I got all bent out of shape about those posts, arguing that they were in very poor taste and were the sort of thing we would rail against, if the body parts were ours instead of our husbands' or brothers'.  I apologize for being so, um, ... preachy.

I still think those posts were in poor taste and I still think the guys in our lives would be offended if they read them. (Mine would, anyway.)  But at the moment, I don't care about bad taste or offending people with wicked humor.  I have good days and sour days.  Today is an unripe persimmon.

For me, the stuff about ta-ta's etc. is kind of like ethnic or regional jokes.  They're fine if we are telling them about ourselves (and if we're comfortable with that).  Jeff Foxworthy can tell jokes about Southerners because he is a Southerner.  Garrison Keillor can tell jokes about Scandinavians and Lutherans because he is one of them.  (I'm making some assumptions there.)  We can tell jokes about breasts and hot flashes and chemo brain etc., because we're laughing among ourselves, about ourselves.

But, woe unto anyone else who is presumptuous enough to tell jokes about a body part he/she does not possess, or an ethnic custom his/her family does not follow, or a part of the country in which he/she does not live.

Okay. So, that's what I think... unless it's a persimmon day.  The rules are set aside and anything goes on persimmon days.

otter

I had a chuckle when I read the "tee off. . ." part and my first thought was it was suggesting taking our tee-shirts off!  R-i-i-ight.

 I personally think the expression ta-tas is kind of a cute expression for the breasts.  As others have hinted at here these sorts of things seem best kept amongst friends and don't seem particularly appropriate in a doctor's office where the serious biz of healing is involved.

A sign of the times?  Nothing is sacred?  Sometimes it seems that way.  And we never know where someone else's head is when they think they're doing something funny.  And they don't know where our heads are either.  Heh.

 There's always moderation - a little laughter; a few tears.  Both seem appropriate for the healing process.  My thought is to save those offended feelings for the big stuff.  It takes a lot of energy to heal and I suspect that dwelling on negative feelings could be an impediment.

 Or another way I think about it when I feel offended is, if it doesn't apply shrug it off.

But it DOES apply! At least to those of us who've lost a breast or two. I'd be more than pleased to know they were tee-ing off to save my life!

Tee off for the testes

Tee off for the tiger (in your pants)

Batting for balls

(Bowling's been done...uh...)

Swinging for the scrotum

uh

My husband DID give up his wife's breasts for the disease. AND he golfs. AND he would be offended by the poster!

I can't think of a single disease (other than BC) where campaigns attempt to be light-hearted in their endeavors to fundraise and promote awareness.   I don't know why this is.   Why is BC treated less seriously? 

To Anjanita: Not really (doesn't explain). It was posted in an oncologist's office. Duh. Cancer!

I have attended dozens of golf tournaments over the years. Some serious causes, most just for fun. I don't even think what it's for while I'm playing. Once I pay my fee, I'm in. When/if I get a goody bag at the end, that's usually where the "cause" is evident.

As for the poster, of course the person didn't intend to offend! But they did. They thought they were being cute. They weren't. I'm also not taking umbrage, but just pointing out that it does apply to those of us who lost our breasts. And I'm not irritated. It takes a lot more than that to irritate me. I just look at it as thoughtless and ignorant.

And I'm certainly not paranoid enough to think they are targetting me personally. In fact, I'm a whole country away!

And in their quest to make light of a deadly disease, they might be raising less money and awareness than if they promoted it as the serious disease that it is.  

Thanks, Beesie.  Good point.

otter

Fearless_One, you make really good points -- there are plenty of fundraisers for other conditions, and none are treated frivolously.  I am familiar through my job with lots of fundraising for arthritis and lupus, including golf outings -- these are all advertised very earnestly and do very well.

Your comments got me "googling" other golf fundraisers.  None of them make light of the causes for which they are raising funds [cancer research in general, ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease), the Make a Wish Foundation, etc., etc,] -- and people who golf will enjoy golfing -- they don't need a "funny title" to make it "fun."

I can't imagine this Alzheimer's Golf Outing would EVER promote itself  with a tagline like "Say Fore! for the Forgetful!" -- it's immediately obvious how offensive that would be, and TOTALLY guaranteed to be a fundraising failure...

P.S.  Editing to add -- I can't even laugh at "Say Fore for the Forgetful" in the way I could giggle at "Putting for Penises" -- I feel like I have to add the disclaimer that my mom has Alzheimer's (and was a great golfer for most of her life) -- weird little "examination of conscience" for me to see which of these joking titles are still a little amusing to me (male body parts), which are completely unfunny (Alzheimer's) and which it would be too horrifying to even try to think of an analogous "joke" (children's conditions...)