I think this is rather humorous , I don't think it's meant to imply that women's breasts are solely playthings for men

Yeah, that’s pretty rude. Ugh.

Very offensive! Not funny at all. I hope my brother doesn't see this - he'll want it on his car.

I have some stickers that say “This offends women.” What a perfect place to put one. Ugh.

I think it's hilarious. I love the organization and all they do. What I find hugely offensive is trucks that have testicles hanging from them. Ugh.

My mom is a breast cancer survivor...I asked her if she found it offensive. She said it was funny and clever.

Women, and their SOs, wear tees that read "save the ta-tas". In small print. Same thing.

Dedtired, I'm offended by that, too. Just a prude I guess. :)

Donna

Another in the camp that doesn't find it offensive - funny and clever is a good description. It made me chuckle when I saw it. I'm not easily offended - too much negative energy.

ETA: I'm a long term survivor of another kind of cancer that required an above knee amputation. I'm also not offended by peg-leg pirate jokes which my husband tells from time to time.....

I did not get it at first.

So I what I think it does--even while presenting a potentially offensive alternate point of view--is get the reader to actually process what the phrase means and come up with the answer, even though that may only take a few seconds.

It's not just another ribbon (yellow, red, pink, etc. ho-hum) and it's not breast cancer,________, etc. awareness spelled out. It cause the viewer to think and it also points out that men should be aware too.

I didn’t get it either, until I saw the pink ribbons. Apparently boobs are Second Base. Who knew? Obviously not me.

I know I posted this somewhere else but this organization was started by a friend of mine and a group of her friends. They lost a good friend, very young, to breast cancer. They raised a lot of money for breast cancer research. They used to do the Susan B Koman Breast Cancer Three Day walk each year. They all had t-shirts with strategically placed baseballs on them. Great group of young women!

Ded, what organization is it?

I do think we need to, as a society, work on reducing the objectification of women.

But being clever/funny does draw attention to the cause, so in this case i think it is fine.

I’m not offended by it, per se; I just think it’s stupid.

I haven't seen that slogan in a long time but I do remember when it was in the news here in the Philadelphia area. Dedtired - was that the Kelly Rooney foundation?

The slogan doesn't bother me at all. I've spent a good bit of time with chemotherapy patients and quite a few of them have positive outlooks with a keen sense of humor. I think it may help them cope with the diagnosis and treatment.

Their group was actually called Save 2nd Base. Yes, Kelly Rooney was part of their group of friends who died of breast cancer..

Just saw it. Personally, I think it's clever and I don't feel insulted.

Add me to the camp that is fine with it. Some people have a hard time talking about breast cancer, so if humor helps to make it more approachable, than I am all for it.

Well, I feel a bit better about it now that I know it was coined and endorsed by a group fighting cancer, and not some guy with no respect for women.

I don't think those things hanging underneath trucks have anything to do with cancer of the prostate or or that part of the body do they? I suppose if that were the reason they were there that would bring attention to male cancer causes.

Anyway the breast cancer bumper sticker didn't offend me. My sister-in-law would have laughed had she survived her breast cancer. She had a great and relatively irreverent sense of humor. :)

Humor can be the saving grace of what’s otherwise offensive, but in this case, I just don’t find it funny. Of course, humor can be subjective.

I don't know, it still brings awareness to the cause..

Just more fodder for the debate about the #METOO issue. If you think this is not offensive and belittling and objectifying women--you are part of the problem.

I don't know, looking at second base as a purely male derived source of pleasure seems to imply that women do not, or are not supposed to have sexual or sensual pleasures in their own right. Like it's unseemly or sinful.

I thought that breasts were more than inert protuberances attached to women's bodies for the purpose of male fetishists and breast feeding. Perhaps women should bind their breasts after their child rearing duties are done to keep the beasts away.

I guess all those women who enjoy having breasts for their own right, or God forbid even enhance them, are sinners and a big part of the problem.

::: eye roll :::

I am happy to say I have never seen the truck phenomenon. If I did, I think I'd move.

you are part of the problem

This seems to be more of a Hot Topic type answer because it can make people hesitate to discuss their feelings about the issue for fear of being labelled 'the problem'. I don't think that is healthy.

It almost seems like we've gone from men telling us what we should be to other women telling us what we should be. I'd like people to respect us enough so we can talk it out and decide for ourselves what we should be.

Arcy_gw, with all due respect you have zero right to tell me what I should and should not be offended by.

There is quite a jump between a cheeky sticker bringing awareness to breast cancer and sexual assault.

The real problem is folks that label others as ‘the problem’ for not sharing their point of view. Please go try your bully tactics elsewhere

Lucille,

This is a separate post to LIKE your thread in capital letters!

Okay I thought about it and yes I think it's offensive to women and I don't like the sexual nature of it being put out there for kids to read and see. But I still see how it contributes to raising awareness to the cause because as the old ''any press good or bad is good press'' attitude goes, it's hard to bring awareness to any issue these days without using aggressive and provocative methods.

I feel the exact same was as Sammy expressed upthread. As a woman I find it just unbearably juvenile. I'm not offended but I can understand if some are. It trivializes a life-threatening illness.

It trivializes a life-threatening illness.

That, is a really good point. I had not seen it that way, Patrice.

I think it's juvenile. It doesn't OFFEND me -- not in the way a "p****-grabbing" President offends me, but it does trivialize a serious issue, as Patrice points out. This also calls to my mind my very good friend who is a breast cancer survivor, who absolutely detests the pink ribbons and plethora of pink products that are sold to raise awareness. She firmly believes that these products generate very little, if anything, for R&D or treatment, but are yet another way for clever marketers to make money off of her (and countless women's) suffering.

I also don't like it and I do agree that it trivializes a life threatening illness. We lost a family member to breast cancer about 10 years ago. The suffering that she went through (for years) is probably unimaginable to people who haven't seen, firsthand, what this awful disease can do. Plus, then there's the grief of the family members left behind (she left two children and a husband who loved her more than anything). I think that the sticker does more than trivialize a disease. I think it trivializes people. My family member...she was more than "second base."

@IdaClaire: This also calls to my mind my very good friend who is a breast cancer survivor, who absolutely detests the pink ribbons and plethora of pink products that are sold to raise awareness. She firmly believes that these products generate very little, if anything, for R&D or treatment, but are yet another way for clever marketers to make money off of her (and countless women's) suffering

^This. I agree with your friend and I find it much more offensive than any bumper sticker. BTW, once you get into 'the system' of breast cancer treatment you can't help but see all the money funneling to anywhere EXCEPT research and treatment.

Beautifully and poignantly explained Veggiegardner.

Denita, I’m with you on that point as well! Makes you wonder how much of those funds actually go to support research and treatment vs lining somebodies pockets for clever marketing.

Not to say that this particular group does so, but just in general with all the products available on the market to support breast cancer awareness. This bothers me more than anything else

Speaking of juvenile bumper stickers this morning I saw:

With guns, trucks and beer who needs women.

My first thought was what woman would want YOU!

"If you think this is not offensive and belittling and objectifying women--you are part of the problem."

Wow. Really? Talk about self righteous.

I see veggie's point, but not everybody reads it as equating women as "second base" or that men view women as sexual play things --- as evidenced that some breast cancer survivors are not finding this offensive --- but I guess they haven't seen the light?

Here's info from their FB site:

"Save 2nd Base is an apparel company focused on raising funds to fight breast cancer with a frank and humorous approach.
From Scholarships to Survivor events, Save 2nd Base strives to inject much needed laughter while fighting this devastating disease."

Actually, one could easily make the point that part of what's so devastating about breast cancer is how if affects women's sexuality and their sex life. And, yes, breasts are part of this. So, by not addressing this concern, you're basically denying women's right to a fulfilling sex life.

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=breast+cancer+surgery+sexuality&atb=v86-3__&ia=web

Who knows why people find things funny that others don't. I'd imagine it's a very complicated cocktail of experience, exposure, and overall disposition. I'm about as irreverent as they come, but there are just some things that strike me as a bit infantile - and this is one of them. I certainly don't think this is anywhere near being comparable to so-called "humor" that is racist, homophobic, sexist, bullying, or despicably denigrating. Others see it as a slippery slope, with the "second base" message being over the line. Personally, I see a big difference between the truck's message and, for example, Roseanne's hideous recent Tweet. I guess we each have our own comfort zone.

(OK - so this was mostly in response to a post which is now deleted. Letting it stand, though, in case anyone reads it and wonders "what's she on about"? ;-))

I didn't even notice the pink ribbon. I viewed only the words and didn't like it. I've NEVER heard a woman talk about second base.

I work in a female-predominant environment and they often forget I am in earshot, and I regularly hear women talking relatively explicitly about sex. Much more so than men who are partnered. Men may brag in general sorts of terms, but I've regularly heard women discuss it at length in the context of relationships, which men, in my experience do not do. I must depend upon your age, and your work environment, because I am sure this varies widely.

My sisters would not discuss something like that, but I know one of them says women in her workplace will talk about things she finds uncomfortable.

I can't speak for this organization or campaign but we have one here called "feel your boobies". They sponsor a number of events and sell a range of tshirts, bumper stickers and other similar marketing pieces that can be seen as fun, silly and sexy... .or too fun, too silly and too sexy. The reality is, though, they are targeting a young market-- making young women and men aware of the need to self check. I can't see anything wrong with that. Think of how many here mentioned friends or family who have had breast cancer... think of how many you know. Awareness is a big part of improving the survival rates.

Huh. I guess I'm part of whatever problem...

I'm not offended at all and I'm all for that whatever reason you choose for wanting to save the boobies.

PC can suck eggs when life is at stake. I'll handle the ramifications (if I can) when there's no longer any breast cancer.