Social and linguistic taboos are also a hindrance in breast cancer awareness – Fighting social and language taboos for breast cancer awareness.

Mother has fed us brothers and sisters with the milk of only one of her breasts. We remember that she used to have a boil near the nipple of her left breast, which she kept hidden from everyone. She used to tell her gynecologist about this problem, but was not able to go for further treatment. She was hesitant as most of the doctors were men and how could she open her blouse and show it to a man. It took him many years to overcome this hesitation and shyness. Ultimately, the lump was removed after a minor surgery. Had it not been for pressure from a doctor relative, the risks of this shame might have been more dire.

Breast cancer is the second largest cause of deaths in the world. The fight in India is not just about resources and therapeutic measures, but shame (breast cancer and taboos) is a strong barrier. It is the responsibility of not only every woman but also men to break this. Most of all those people who are doctors, surgeons or those non-government organizations who are working for awareness. But the problem is that even these organizations have not been able to develop the right language and the right approach. Sometimes there is a glimpse of cheap porn literature in it, and sometimes of imported idioms. The recent uproar over breasts being called orange is an example of this.

what was the whole matter

Yuvraj Singh's NGO YouWeCan had released an advertisement on Breast Cancer Awareness. In these advertisements placed in Delhi Metro, breasts were written as orange. The tagline of the advertisement was, “Check your oranges”. After this there was an uproar on social media. Not only women but men also strongly objected to this objectification of breasts.

And finally Delhi Metro removed those advertisements. But the question arises that why till now we have been objectifying intimate organs with the names of fruits and vegetables (breast cancer and taboos). From the language of cheap pornography to a cancer awareness advertisement from a responsible organization, what's the problem with calling breasts breasts? Why are they objectified with names like lemons, oranges, popcorn or pumpkins?

What is the objection?

October is designated as Breast Cancer Awareness Month. In such a situation, many types of seminars and programs are organized to spread awareness among women about breast examination and its risk factors. In the poster released by former cricketer Yuvraj Singh's organization YouWeCan, a woman traveling in a bus was standing with two oranges in her hands and other women were looking at her. It appeared to be an AI generated advertisement in which it was written, 'Check your oranges-once in a month'. In another similar advertisement 'How well do you know your oranges' was written. In which two women were looking at oranges.

What is the mentality behind this?

Not only breasts, here vagina, vulva, testicles and penis are also objectified with the names of fruits and vegetables.

Christina Dzialas, a linguistic expert at the University of Vienna, conducted research into why female and male genitals are referred to by such names. it ResearchGate in July 2020 Published on. In which 184 words used in English as well as French and Spanish languages ​​were studied. Christina also sees this as an example of gender stereotype, where female genitals are referred to as sweetness and soft fruits. While the male genitals with a little astringent and hard fruits and vegetables.

What was people's reaction when breasts were called orange?

this is ridiculous

Shubham Tiwari lives in Lucknow. He is a model and actor and says, “My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in the first wave of Covid. He was treated and is fine now. Due to such absurdity, people are not able to express their problems clearly. They hide it even from their children and people in their family. There is a need to make men also aware about this. But when such nonsense is used in advertisements then what can we say about the common people. What can we say to these people?”

Vibha Rani is a breast cancer fighter. He has defeated it on the strength of his courage and positivity. She says, “Lemon, orange, apple, lemon, pumpkin…. Our breasts are called by these names. Everyone finds it obscene to speak of breasts (breast cancer and taboos) and speaking of all this is veiled. How much curtain should we make for the Namakuls? For the last ten years of my breast cancer, I have been telling her to say 'breast, say uterus.'

It seems like it's a taboo thing

For a responsible organization to call breasts oranges for breast cancer awareness is not only ridiculous but also offensive. Associating female body parts with any object is not new in our society, but the trend of making fun of female body parts by calling them separate objects in obscene language is prevalent at every level.

In such a situation, calling breasts as oranges instead of directly calling them breasts and putting up a picture of them not only objectifies the woman but also indicates her as a prohibited subject whose name is prohibited. Therefore this advertisement should be opposed at every level.

Shame and the 'language of search' have confused a lot

Dr. Mansi Chauhan, Breast Oncosurgeon

I have a slightly different opinion on this issue. Certainly, embarrassment about breast cancer awareness (breast cancer and taboos) is a big issue. Young and elderly women also keep this part of themselves very private. She doesn't talk even if she faces any problem. During treatment, many elderly women came to me who did not have a good understanding with their daughter-in-law and could not discuss this issue with their son. And she continued to suffer from this problem for years. Whereas if there was early identification and diagnosis, it could have been treated. Most surgeons are men and women do not want to tell their problems to men.

In the health sector, many things are being done on the lines of copy paste from abroad. Whereas every place and every society has its own needs. is a US organization Know your lemons Which works only on breast cancer awareness. Same thing happened in this advertisement that lemon was removed and it was changed to orange. Whereas our society is different. The modernity here is also of a different kind. The name of the institute where I did my fellowship in breast cancer surgery in Paris was 'Breast Clinic'.

I am a breast cancer surgeon and when I wanted to start my podcast, the biggest challenge for me was what to name it. If I had named it directly related to breasts, then perhaps I would not have been able to appear in the content available on the internet. If you type breast or breasts on Google, you see a lot of porn and semi-porn content.

The content of breast cancer is not visible in the search. So I had to name my podcast Good Better Breasts. Which can create awareness about breast cancer in an interesting way. We have to understand the problems according to our community and find solutions to them. We will not be able to talk in India with foreign idioms.

Early diagnosis is an effective step in preventing breast cancer.

According to the report of American Cancer Society Journal, breast cancer is the most common cancer in India. According to the report, 216,108 cases of breast cancer were found in India in the year 2022. Breast cancer rates have increased by 39% from 1990 to 2016. According to the National Library of Medicine, most of its cases are found in Delhi. After that, women in Chennai, Bangalore and Thiruvananthapuram are becoming victims of breast cancer.

Onco surgeon Dr Mansi Chauhan says, “The sooner it can be diagnosed, the more successful its treatment can be. That's why we recommend all women to do self breast examination every month.” Dr. Mansi has been working for breast cancer awareness for the last several years. She is also a breast cancer surgeon and frequently talks about the seriousness of this disease and the need for early detection.

The advertisement released for Breast Cancer Awareness which caused uproar also highlighted the importance of early detection. But the language of the advertisement was objectionable, which led to a lot of opposition.

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