‘Saving second base’ stealing our dignity
Here’s last week’s DI article:
As a Cubs fan, baseball season ended for me a few weeks ago with a disappointing loss to the Dodgers. To avoid any further salt in my open wounds, I have avoided ESPN and the DI sports section as much as possible. But despite my withdrawal from all things baseball, I’ve heard a lot lately about second base.
If you pay any attention on your walk to class (and judging by the number of bicycle/student collisions I see, you may not), then you’ve noticed a new fashion trend on campus: T-shirts that read “Save Second Base” with two large, suggestively placed baseballs across the chest.
As part of a campuswide fundraising campaign, Colleges Against Cancer is selling these “slightly controversial” T-shirts, along with more traditional apparel, in an attempt to raise money for the American Cancer Society.
In their failed attempt at humor, Colleges Against Cancer is trivializing a condition that affects millions of people worldwide. They turn a traumatizing experience into the butt of a vulgar joke to make a few dollars, ironically cheapening their cause.
“Second base” is a reference to male sexual accomplishment. It is part of an analogy that makes women part of a contest of conquests. The implication is that females serve no purpose beyond satisfying men, boosting their egos, and inspiring high-fives.
I know that the locker room lingo isn’t going away because chauvinism is a reality in this country. Some men will continue comparing women to sports games and sex to home runs. But a student group reducing breast cancer patients to part of a sexual analogy is despicable. From a group like Colleges Against Cancer that does really great work on campus, organizing fundraisers and the local Relay for Life, I expected a more mature approach. Instead, they have chosen to reinforce a sexual double standard that treats women as objects (in this case, baseballs).
Beyond the problematic sexual references, these T-shirts can be personally offensive for people battling the disease. More than half the women in the U.S. who are diagnosed with breast cancer will need a mastectomy, a procedure that surgically removes one or both breasts to rid the body of cancerous tissue. Though this procedure saves lives, it can be devastating. Millions of women around the world are grappling with the reality of life without breasts, struggling with self-definition.
Rather than celebrating women’s beauty and feminine value beyond their anatomy, these shirts serve as reminders of the value society places on boobs. We see it everywhere: music videos, reality TV shows, and movies, on the sidelines of football games, and even in dorm room posters. Sadly, we accept the objectification of women as an essential strategy of the entertainment industry. By tying boobs directly to female worth, the media, and now T-shirts on this campus, make the question of identity without breasts even more difficult to answer.
Women are not the only ones who should be offended. In 2008, about 2,000 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States, but they are left out of the clever baseball references. Can we work on a shirt that hyper-sexualizes them, too?
Overall, it’s been a disappointing few weeks for me. I’m not too hung up on the Cubs thing. A lifetime of Cubs losses has taught me not to expect much out of Wrigley. But three years of involvement here has taught me to expect a great deal from U of I students. I expected that this campus would respect the courage of men and women diagnosed with cancer. Instead, I see an inappropriate mockery of a life-threatening condition. I thought we would hold ourselves to a higher standard. I guess I expected too much.
If you have already purchased a shirt, I’m sure the American Cancer Society appreciates the donation. If I were you, I would think twice about wearing it. It’s fine if you love boobs, but don’t forget to love the women to whom they belong.
Comment by kofi the you said boobs on 25 October 2008 at 9:32 pm:
This was intentionally satirical, right? Like a SNL skit?
Comment by Todd on 25 October 2008 at 11:09 pm:
I’d like to elaborate on Kofi’s comment. Basically, he’s right – you are going to have a very difficult time getting men to take this article seriously. If anything, you may even be encouraging men to wear the shirt out of principle. I know you are not writing strictly to men, and my comment isn’t solely about men, but I’m mostly writing about men, since most people are heterosexual and you’re writing about objectification of women.
That you even felt the need to tell men not to forget to love the women instead of just the boobs would offend many of them. Not many men need this reminder. There do exist woman-hating, exploitative, abusive, and sexually-motivated men. Such abusive women exist, too, in similar quantities. But many men reading this article will get the impression that you see such an exploitative man hiding behind every face and will think you are unaware of (or support) exploitative women, whether or not it’s the truth.
There is another image-related issue: you use a lot of words like “inappropriate”, “higher standard”, “mockery”, “failed attempt at humor”, etc. This gives off a very uptight vibe. Such a vibe is not likely to produce the desired outcome when your audience is primarily college students.
Do not get me wrong here – I agree that media and other cultural influences have damaged self esteem and self image, created somewhat artificial markets for products that otherwise would not have existed, and have resulted in BOTH men and women having somewhat bizarre and unrealistic expectations for the behavior and appearance (appearance moreso for women, behavior moreso for men) of members of the opposite sex. I just think this article is not going to help with this problem. Good luck with the fight, though.
Comment by John Bambenek on 26 October 2008 at 9:17 am:
Sure there are good men out there, but if it was all so rosy and peach, these shirts would not only not be printed but it wouldn’t be acceptable to wear them. The 7th grade boy model of sexuality certainly is in the dominant social position right now and that is what Katie is condemning. And rightly so.
Comment by Billy Joe Mills on 26 October 2008 at 10:50 am:
This is a great article Katie. Probably my favorite so far to come from you. I am getting generally sick and pissed off at the way women are treated in society and I admit to contributing to that attitude (though more so in the past). Also, I appreciate and understand the Cubs references more than I care to.
Comment by Katie on 26 October 2008 at 11:53 am:
I’m not trying to change the world here, or even societal expectations of men and women. My main point is that a student group that is linked to the American Cancer Society should be more sensitive to the personal struggles of women battling the disease and should not perpetuate a mentality of sexual objectification. I don’t think students who bought these shirts are evil or that they are being purposefully offensive. They thought the shirts were funny and were willing to shell out $5. Yes, using words like “inappropriate,” “higher standard,” and “mockery” are a little uptight, but they will hopefully make people consider the impact of the tshirt’s message.
Kofi- you consistently get the award for biggest jackass. Congrats.
Comment by Katie on 26 October 2008 at 12:03 pm:
Todd- I forgot to mention this in that last comment, but 90% of the people I’ve seen wearing these shirts are women. If this column seems overly-feminist, it’s for that reason. You’re right that most men who bought these shirts probably will not be convinced that it was a bad idea, but I think that would hold true regardless of the approach I took with the column.
Comment by Todd on 26 October 2008 at 12:07 pm:
I’m not sure it’s that simple, John. I think “good” people can wear the shirts and find it acceptable for others to do so.
For instance, I could see myself wearing a shirt that even went as far as to contribute to the precise form of objectification I have experienced over the last few years. I’d do it if I thought the benefits outweighed whatever small bit of increased objectification could come from a mere shirt. I might wear it if I thought it was funny or if it could be used to strike up interesting conversations (perhaps even conversations that increase people’s awareness of objectification!). I’m not sure what the shirt would say. Something along the lines of “I exist solely to take you out and buy you nice things,” except funny :)
Perhaps we’re seeing a similar effect with this shirt. Could the shirt itself raise objectification levels slightly but the discussion provoked decrease them by even more? If that’s the case, then maybe a strongly worded article like this with some potential to offend some people is a good idea after all. I don’t know what things are like on campus, but we seem to be quite interested to discuss here on this blog.
Comment by Todd on 26 October 2008 at 12:12 pm:
One more random thought: this may also be a case of all publicity being good publicity for the shirt-sellers. In order to prevent a sale, someone who would’ve otherwise bought the shirt (and hasn’t yet bought it) must be convinced not to buy it. That’s tough to do.
On the other hand, some people might not have even been aware of these shirts (I wasn’t), and some of these people may buy one.
Comment by Todd on 26 October 2008 at 12:14 pm:
Katie, thanks, I didn’t know it was 90% women (and I wrote my last two comments before seeing that, too). Things do make a bit more sense now.
Comment by Janet on 17 March 2009 at 4:57 pm:
If you research these t-shirts a little further, you will learn the story behind these shirts. This phrase and their designs are trademarked. A mother of 5, who was battling breast cancer, came up with this name for her team for the Philadelphia 3-Day event. She was too sick with the disease to participate in the event, but her sister and friend took her wish to do something to keep her daughters from having to deal with breast cancer and ran with it. They founded this company as a way to raise funds for breast cancer research. So if a cancer patient, who had a masectomy, did not find this offensive, then who are we to judge her on her wish to find a way to treat/cure breast cancer? Visit http://www.save2ndbase.com/ to read more about it.
Comment by Tim on 17 March 2009 at 8:32 pm:
I am shocked and awed that the author of this poster is unable to see the charitable value of this movement. Do you think people would buy as many shirts without the controversy? I highly doubt it. You might find it against your values, so you don’t buy a shirt. But plenty do, and to the genuine benefit of women who are struggling with a terrible health condition. Increased “sensitivity” to the women’s issues you cite will likely result in less revenue. That means less money for research, care, and other issues that this charity is pushing. I can’t imagine how emotions can carry such intrinsic value that they outweigh the real considerations in this case, but it seems the larger moral issue is trying to achieve the goals of the charity–money for women who are struggling so that their suffering can be one day eliminated.
I think your criticisms of male sexuality are without basis as well, and not even exclusive to human beings. With that said, the much bigger issue here is the charitable work that is unquestionably going on here, and the harms to that work that might be caused if someone’s emotional reaction to a witty phrase were ever a binding call for it to cease.
I think Todd’s analysis is spot-on. The relevant consideration that is apparently overlooked is the genuine good that these charities are doing by generating a controversy. In doing so, they are raising the awareness of more people and performing a service that is certainly to the gain of society, or at least a large subset of society.
Comment by Valeria Kelly on 5 July 2010 at 11:54 am:
Women Issues these days are mostly about women empowerment and equal rights among men.-”‘
Comment by Jasmine Turner on 3 August 2010 at 10:27 am:
women issues these days are more on equal rights with men and woman power”;;
Comment by Kyle Bailey on 29 September 2010 at 12:37 pm:
there are lots of women issues that are mostly related to relationships and family~,~
Comment by Bum Bag : on 25 October 2010 at 11:17 am:
well, womens issues are centered on things which involves a woman’s feelings.’;: