My family ran an oncology practice (as the practicing physician and owner) for over 30 years and breast cancer has already claimed several of my family, so I am 100% for raising awareness and fundraising to find a cure, HOWEVER:

These are simply a distraction in the classroom, and one more reason angry parents call us upset with our performance. The arguments raised that this allows students to participate in awareness in a complex way is only true for a very few students. 90% of the time (conservatively) it’s simply one more barrier for us to keep kids engaged, and better move forward towards a healthy lifestyle, but the message is getting lost. I would say the pink ribbon logo being incorporated into the design of the belts, bracelets, etc. would go a long way to actually start a serious conversation about awareness. Leave your boobies in tact on the products, but add the ribbon to start a productive conversation about the topic:

“Whoah your belt says ‘boobies.’”
“Yeah, awesome right! ‘Boobies.’”

Vs.
“Whoah your belt says ‘boobies.’ What’s that ribbon thingy?”
“Oh yeah. It’s the pink ribbon that is a symbol for breast cancer.”

See the difference?

I will be using this as a “teachable moment” next class, and discuss some of the causes and prevention methods of breast Cancer, however I am not hopeful that my 9th grade English class will be attentive, on task, and engaged in the subject. Sensationalism is great to spread the word, but could we please incorporate a minimum amount of academia (the ribbon?) to make the conversation productive?