Prose Before Hos

You’re Talking Too Loud

Posted on February 8, 2012 in Videos

Magic Chords by Sharon Van Etten off of her upcoming album Tramp.

Why The Susan G. Komen Backlash Worked

Posted on February 8, 2012 in Articles

The Article: Damage Control: Why the Backlash Against the Komen Foundation Succeeded by Nona Willis Aronowitz in Good News.

The Text: On Tuesday, the anti-breast cancer charity Susan G. Komen For The Cure announced it was pulling funds that it had previously provided Planned Parenthood for breast exams. And today, after a hailstorm of protest on Twitter, Facebook, and Susan G. Komen’s message boards, the charity announced that it would be restoring Planned Parenthood’s grants.

Folks across the Internet are attributing this victory to, well, the Internet. Yay, social media! But it’s worth asking why this particular attack on women’s health prompted such a deafening outcry. After all, just one year ago the House of Representatives voted to defund Planned Parenthood outright. Conservative legislators rail against the HPV vaccine, which also prevents women from getting life-threatening cancer. Neither case prompted a fraction of the ire. What exactly got us so riled up this time?

It’s partly about the politics of breast cancer itself, or lack thereof. Breast cancer is one of the few nonpartisan women’s health issues. For those of us irritated by Komen’s pinkwashing or the foundation’s petty lawsuits against smaller charities, this may have also been an opportunity to vent our disgust. Mainly, though, the difference lies in the money: We expect to have a say in where our donations go.