Do Your Boobs Have To Be Their Business? Petition Demands Victoria Secret Create Bras For Breast Cancer Survivors

Do Your Boobs Have To Be Their Business? Petition Demands Victoria Secret Create Bras For Breast Cancer Survivors

Source: Shutterstock

As some one who has never had the pleasure of breasts small enough to fit inside of a Victora’s Secret bra, I’ve never had a chance to bask in all the unmentionable goodness that apparently goes on behind those pink walls. So, in essence, I have  a “meh” attitude when it comes to the lingerie retailer and it’s offerings because (a) they’re not for me, and (b) there are plenty of other places I can spend my dollars on a good underwire brassiere with some lift.

It appears breast cancer survivors and their supporters don’t quite feel the same, though, as a new petition has recently been created on change.org demanding that Victoria Secret start to manufacture bras for women who have undergone a mastectomy. Inspired by her mother Debbie Barrett, who has been cancer-free for 21 years,  Allana Maiden, of Richmond, VA,  started the petition, writing:

“Many women who undergo mastectomy surgery because of breast cancer suffer from body image issues. It doesn’t help that they don’t have the option of buying the pretty bras they wore before their battle with cancer, and specialty stores can be hard to find, forcing them to order bras online that they have to send back because they don’t fit properly.

“There are so many women out there, like my mom, who have survived breast cancer but are left feeling altered and uncomfortable because of undergoing chemotherapy, radiation and surgery. I think they deserve to feel beautiful and Victoria’s Secret is the perfect company to help make that happen with a line of “Survivor” mastectomy bras. “

In a press release, Maiden added:

“Victoria’s Secret is supposed to make women feel beautiful, yet the women that deserve that feeling the most get left out. Every woman knows someone that has been impacted by breast cancer, and women are passionate about this cause. What better way to give back to women than to help cancer survivors feel good about themselves?”

It seems quite a few people — 118,000 to be exact — agree with Maiden. That’s the number of supporters who have signed the petition thus far. Though Maiden’s language in the actual letter sent to Victoria Secret is less stern than that on the change.org petition, I wonder if the underlying tone of this effort is a bit…off.

 

Many a battle has been brought before Victoria Secret in the past. As I alluded to in the beginning of my post, the bra retailer is not exactly the be-all, end-all of bra-wear. Their bras don’t go beyond a D-cup, leaving out I don’t know how many women in the tig ‘ol bitty committee demographic. And there has also been a strong push to get the company to expand their notion of neutral so that other minorities can actually wear flesh tone bras rather than what ends up being beige on most darker hued ladies. Mastectomy bras may be a much nobler cause than these but I think Victoria Secret has made it clear who their (narrow) demographic is and instead of giving them business after strongly urging them to cater to you, I say it’s better to create your own survivor line and give business to those whose bottom line isn’t just dollars.

What do you think about this petition?

‘ +
‘‘ +
‘‘ +
google_ads[0].line1 +
‘‘ +
‘‘ +
‘‘ +
‘‘ +
google_ads[0].visible_url +
‘‘ +
‘‘ +
‘‘ +
google_ads[0].line2 + ‘ ’ +
google_ads[0].line3 +
‘

‘;

} else if (google_ads.length 1) {

s += ‘Ads by Google
‘

for(i = 0; i Ads by Google
‘ +
google_ads[i].line1 + ‘ ‘ +
google_ads[i].visible_url + ‘ ‘ +
google_ads[i].line2 + ‘ ’ +
google_ads[i].line3 + ‘
‘;
}
}

if (google_ads[0].bidtype == “CPC”) { /* insert this snippet for each ad call */
google_adnum = google_adnum + google_ads.length;
}

document.write(s);
return;
}

google_ad_client = ‘ca-pub-1940594850564020′; /* substitute your client_id (pub-#) */
google_ad_channel = ’4715519412′;
google_ad_output = ‘js’;
google_max_num_ads = ’1′;
google_ad_type = ‘text’;
//google_image_size = ’728×90′;
google_targeting = “content”;
google_feedback = ‘on’;
google_skip = google_adnum; /* to skip for multiple units, insert this snippet for each ad call */
// –

Do Your Boobs Have To Be Their Business? Petition Demands Victoria Secret Create Bras For Breast Cancer Survivors