A few weeks ago, I walked through the Free Expression Tunnel on campus only to be met with the dreaded sight: pink. Everywhere. I had forgotten it was October already and, having spent three full years on campus, I knew exactly what I was walking into. The tunnel being pinked-out for Breast Cancer Awareness Month isn’t my problem — in fact, as the daughter of a breast cancer survivor, I love it. What I had to brace myself for were the words written on those pink walls: “save the ta-tas,” and “we love boobies.”

I know the sorority that does this painting every year, Zeta Tau Alpha (ZTA), means well. They’re trying to raise awareness and painting a high-traffic, well-known graffiti tunnel pink is an efficient way to do so. However, when we raise awareness it’s very important that we make sure our language isn’t harmful to the community we’re trying to help, and that is where ZTA has failed. 

When we say “save the ta-tas,” the emphasis is placed on saving a body part rather than on saving the life of the patient. Of course, I think it’s safe to say most people don’t want to lose a body part if they don’t have to, but I think it’s also likely that most people would choose to lose a body part over their life. We don’t say “save the livers” for liver cancer awareness or “save the bones” for bone cancer awareness, so why are we so focused on saving breasts from breast cancer?

In our society, women’s breasts are heavily sexualized and are seen as a symbol of womanhood. People often base a woman’s attractiveness and femininity on the size of her breasts. So when we say things in relation to breast cancer awareness that put the emphasis on women’s breasts above their lives, that’s saying that we’re putting their value on their attractiveness or femininity rather than the fact that they’re a human being.

Another really important factor to this conversation is the fact that people who were assigned female at birth aren’t the only ones who can get breast cancer. About one in every 100 breast cancers diagnosed in the U.S. is found in someone who was assigned male at birth. Breast cancer is a disease that is commonly seen as a disease only women get, which can create a stigma surrounding men who get breast cancer.

Focusing awareness conversations on boobs adds to the idea that breast cancer is only for women, which can result in a lot of unnecessary internal turmoil for a patient who was assigned male at birth, as well as people who don’t identify as women. Additionally, pushing the idea that only those assigned female at birth can get breast cancer means those assigned male at birth could be less likely to get screened, which could leave breast cancer tumors unnoticed until it’s too late.

My mom is a breast cancer survivor. I know many other survivors and fighters — too many of whom are no longer with us. When they were diagnosed with breast cancer, their biggest fear wasn’t losing their breasts, it was losing their lives. Roughly 42,000 women in the U.S. die every year from breast cancer. With statistics like that, how can breast cancer awareness be anything but “save their lives”? If you want to help raise awareness about breast cancer, remind your friends and family to get screened — even those assigned male at birth. Inform yourself and your loved ones that while most new cases of breast cancer are found in older women, women younger than 45 can be susceptible to breast cancer.  

To their benefit, ZTA does a lot of work to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer, and I’m very grateful for that. However, as supporters of the fight, I hope they change their language to be less harmful to the community.