the Female Body GOVERNING

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samantha king
again, this is in large part because the “type” of woman that breast
cancer is imagined to strike is not always already an object of suspicion
and hatred.
What becomes apparent through this analysis of survivorship, breast
cancer culture, and corporate philanthropy, then, is that nothing is inherently
uncontroversial about breast cancer. Instead, the disease has been
manufactured as such over two decades of organizing that has gradually
been incorporated into conservative political agendas, the programs of
large nonprofi ts in partnerships with the cancer industries, and corporate
marketing strategies. The challenge thus becomes to disrupt the tyranny
of cheerfulness that presides over breast cancer culture at this time so
that those struggles and controversies that are at present pushed to the
margins of discourse on the disease might fi nd center stage and thus
enable a more rigorous assessment of the status quo.
Notes
1. Extensive media coverage of the biology of breast cancer, methods of detection,
available treatment options, and the psychological impact of losing a breast,
followed their announcements.
2. NABCO, which closed its doors in 2004, was formed to provide “information,
assistance, and referral to anyone with questions about breast cancer” and act
“as a voice for the interests and concerns of breast cancer survivors and women
at risk” (www.nabco.org). The NBCC was created from an initial meeting of
75 groups, including Breast Cancer Action of San Francisco, the Women’s
Community Cancer Project of Cambridge, and the Washington, DC-based
Mary Helen Mautner Project for Lesbians with Breast Cancer.
3. I use the term corporate philanthropy to refer both to the activities of fund-raising
organizations that rely on partnerships with businesses to support their work
and to the philanthropic activities of businesses, which are increasingly tied
to corporate strategy (i.e., growth and profi t-making).
4. Cause-related marketing is a strategy by which corporations or brands
associate themselves with a social cause such as breast cancer, child literacy,
or homelessness. Most often, the association takes the form of donating a
percentage of the profi ts on a particular product to a cause, but it can also
take the form of free advertising (the National Football League pays for
commercials promoting the Race for the Cure, for instance), or sponsorship of
fund-raising events (Lee Jean’s Denim Day, for instance, on which employees
in participating companies pay $5 to the Komen Foundation in return for
being permitted to wear jeans to work).
5. This section of the chapter is based on research conducted over the past 4 years.
During this time, I attended Race for the Cure events in Illinois; Washington,
DC; and Arizona, at which I took fi eld notes and photographs, made tape
recordings of speeches and ceremonies, and talked with participants and
volunteers. I have also followed and occasionally taken part in discussions
on the Komen Foundation’s Talk Back online message boards and collected
their publicity materials, newsletters, and annual reports. In addition to these
sources, I have collected print media coverage of the Race for the Cure from
1983 to the present.