Survivors & charities can’t find who started the #NoBraDay hash tag and are outraged at ‘Sexualising Breast Cancer’ while Porn Scouts are linked to a similar hash tag.
A Twitter hashtag has duped hundreds of women into posting sexy selfies online because they thought it was in aid of raising cancer awareness.
The #Hold*CokeWithYourBoobsChallenge was launched by a porn scout who encouraged women – and some men – to pose with a soft drinks can in their cleavage and share the picture online.
But although it’s seen many topless women joining in – it turns out that it was all a big joke.
The hashtag was actually started to take the mickey out of more worthy initiatives like the Ice Bucket Challenge and the no makeup selfie…
It’s also been blamed for trying to make breast cancer seem more sexy, with some claiming it’s offensive to women who may have undergone a single or double mastectomy because of the disease.
Porn scout Danny Frost and glamour model Gemma Jaxx have revealed that they are the ones who started the hashtag.
Although it was in the name of humour, Danny says that he has now decided that it should be used to raise cash for cancer charities.
Charities have been enraged by the mocking nature of the trend, as seeks to look legitimate by following in the footsteps of similar measures like the Ice Bucket Challenge which helped to raise more than £75 million in aid of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
#NoBraDay is supposedly meant to raise public awareness about breast cancer, but not everyone is convinced that taking a nipple selfie is the best way to open discussion about a life-threatening disease.
The campaign has been slammed for “sexualising” breast cancer and “objectifying”women who take part.
Yet a lot of ladies are still keen to support the cause, posting images like this on social media:
It is unclear who started #NoBraDay and there doesn’t appear to be a registered charity associated with the campaign.
However, a Facebook page named No Bra Day For Breast Cancer Awareness reads: “Ladies, free your breasts for 24 hours, our perkiness should not be hidden. It is time that the world see what we’re blessed with.
“Your breasts might be colossal, adorable, miniature, full, jiggly, fancy, sensitive, glistening, bouncy, smooth, tender, still blossoming, rosy, plump, fun, silky, jello-like, fierce, jolly, nice, naughty, cuddly, sexy, perky, or drag the ground…YAY for boobies!”
Karen Dobres, who runs Loose Debra – a website featuring tips on how to look (modest*) stylish while braless – does not think this Facebook page is the right way to raise breast cancer awareness.
She has a history of breast cancer in her family and finds the idea of #NoBraDay offensive.
“There seems to be a running theme this October, that as long as breast cancer awareness is mentioned, it doesn’t matter what you do. The end (funding or added awareness) always justifies the means,” she tells HuffPost UK Lifestyle.
“The writer appears to be very excited about the ‘jiggly’ nature of ‘boobies’. I’m sorry but someone please tell me where taste and judgement come into this, because right now it sounds like a thinly veiled attempt to objectify women using the platform of breast cancer awareness. How low will we all sink?”
Dobres isn’t the only one to criticise the campaign. Many others have accused #NoBraDay of “sexualising women” on social media.
The backlash against #NoBraDay comes after M&S’s #ShowYourStap campaign – which encourages people to snap a selfie with their bra strap on display and donate £3 to cancer research – received criticism from breast cancer survivors who said the disease “isn’t pink and fluffy”.
Feminist blogger Louise Pennington notes that both campaigns “reinforce the hyper-sexualised objectification of women’s bodies”.
“Women are already perfectly aware of their risk of breast cancer. There are countless campaigns exhorting women to check your breasts and there are massive amounts of fundraising from Moonwalks to Asda’s pink branded eggs,” she tells HuffPost UK Lifestyle.
“Men are squealing excitedly on Twitter about the possibility of seeing erect nipples on #NoBraDay. They certainly aren’t interested in breast cancer research or how many women die each year from it.
“And, let’s be honest here, these men don’t want to see images of women who have actually had breast cancer – of mastectomy scars, hair loss or grieving families.”
She goes on to say that we’ll only really learn more about breast cancer by listening to women speak about the disease.
“Going without a bra or posting pictures of erect nipples isn’t the reality of breast cancer,” she says.
“If people want to raise awareness, talk to the women who have experienced it. Share their stories, not porno-fied images of the bodies of very young, thin women.”
The only lead we could track down was the Facebook community page International No Bra Day with a creepy message:
Ladies, free your breasts for 24 hours by removing those dreadful (but at times oh-so-helpful) bras. Our perkiness should not be hidden. It is time that the world see what we were blessed with.
And while many are throwing their boulder-holders to the wind and posting sexy shots in social media, many have keyed into the event’s unofficial nature and are slamming it for sexualizing a serious issue.
“Whoever came up with this #NoBraDay is a pervert. How is showing your nipples creating awareness??” one Twitter user writes, questioning the event.
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