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Facebook campaign aimed at promoting breast cancer awareness sets off hot debate
A Facebook campaign that is encouraging women to post the colour of their bra to encourage breast cancer awareness has raised a lot of eyebrows over the past few days.
However, even as Indians on Facebook were busy telling cyberspace that their lingerie was black, blue or green, not all have taken to the campaign.
One male blogger terming it the 'Facebook Bra Colour Fiasco' said, "I'd like to thank all women for completely destroying the age-old debate of which sex is smarter.
You know what awareness campaign that doesn't create awareness is called? An awareness campaign run by females who think they are doing something cute and rebellious.
Great job at not discussing the topic at hand! The word cancer was nowhere to be found."
Another Facebook user Priyal Sanghvi said sarcastically that she was thinking of focussing on those who lose their hair due to cancer.
"We will ask members 'How are you wearing your hair right now?' That won't be as bad as the last one. Just a dumber spin-off," she said.
However, volunteers who work with breast cancer awareness programmes, say the campaign may not be such a bad idea. "Anything that promotes screening is great.
As long as the campaign gets the message across, I don't see any problem," said Sheroo Kheswalla, volunteer with the Indian Cancer Society that produces breast prostheses for women affected by breast cancer.
Doctors echoed this opinion. "In my days, it was a pink ribbon. I didn't know that this is how you did it now," said Dr Asha Kapadia, head of oncology at P D Hinduja hospital, with a laugh.
"Seriously, one in 24 women in Mumbai suffer from breast cancer. Whatever the medium, the message is important."
Site's impact
Facebook officials are now hailing the movement as a 'grass-roots' campaign.
Said a Facebook spokesperson to CNN, "It's an ideal example of how an individual voice can be magnified to create awareness for a good cause and ignite action among millions."
The campaign has spawned anti-movement groups on Facebook like the 'We don't want to know the colour of your bra' group.
75,000
Number of new breast cancer cases detected in India annually
54 lakh
Number of Facebook users in India | 
