Canadian charity Rethink Breast Cancer is an organization that brings “bold, relevant awareness to the under-40 crowd”, and their new Your Man Reminder app is definitely aimed at the younger ladies.
Rethink Breast Cancer has done a variety of rather contemporary if not controversial videos and campaigns, like the catchy “Breast Cancer, The Musical” video, and its “Feel Up” PSA for the Breast Fest Film Festival. The content and the video promoting the new Your Man Reminder app is no different.
The app is basically essentially an alarm clock where a “sexy man” of your choice reminds you weekly, monthly or randomly when to check out your boobs. The promo video features said “sexy men” gyrating around a hospital with their shirts off, flexing their muscles, and feeling up their own pectorals whilst cooing about TLC (Touch, Look, Check). In theory, the app it’s quite clever, and the video is pretty funny. The sexiness is meant to be ironic. (Right?)
However, as my husband pointed out, “If this were the other way around, it would be really, really bad.”
As we saw with the Porn for Women book series, seeing men being sexually objectified in the same way women are can initially be seen as funny. This video and app are obviously meant to be tongue in cheek, but despite its overall message, it still doesn’t sit right with me. What my husband said is right. Just imagine if Men's Health had video promoting, I don’t know, getting checked for prostate cancer that featured women in bikinis, with the camera firmly settled on her cleavage and butt cheeks. Even if it was meant to be ironic, it still wouldn’t be so funny, would it? We’d be pissed, actually.
Obviously, Rethink Breast Cancer’s message is a very serious one, and cleverly promoting an app and a video to remind women to give themselves regular breast checks is fantastic. I just wish the concept could be above resorting to objectifying the opposite sex and sexualizing things like breast checks.
Of course having sexy people reminding you to check yourself for lumps is a lot more fun than downloading a corporate branded, straightforward "Hey! Make sure you don't have cancer!" reminder. If you want something a bit cheeky that will get women's attention, why not get (Feminist) Ryan Gosling to be the face of the app? A fully-clothed James Franco? Ryan Reynolds in a Marks & Spencer suit? Have it be a guy, have them be attractive, but don't make them dance around in their underwear.