Polish feminists protest breast cancer prevention slogan

The Feminoteka foundation, a Polish feminist group, is speaking out against a breast cancer prevention slogan displayed in a hospital in Opole: I check the breasts of my workers on my own. Spokeswoman Joanna Piotrowska told Reuters: "This is a sexist slogan that obviously brings sexual molestation to mind... I wonder if this would be equally funny if it were changed to 'I check the penises of my workers on my own'."

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gmoke

Or, more accurately, “I check the prostates of my fellow workers on my own.”
- johnphantom
  
  Yeah, I thought having a hernia check was embarrassing. Now that I have turned 40 I find prostate exams to be much more embarrassing AND much more invasive.
  
  God I hate having someone stick their finger up my…
  
  Grit teeth… it will be over soon… it will be over soon…
Matt Deckard

That’s kind of a silly rhetorical question. I think most of the same people who thought the breast slogan was funny would in fact think the penis one is equally funny.
Anonymous

I actually think the penis slogan is a bit funnier.
Anonymous

Humor is often based in the absurd. So the penis check might qualify as funny. At least at some workplaces.
eyemyth

The penis one is more funny actually… and a good reminder to check yourself for penis cancer regularly.
Moriarty

The original joke doesn’t make sense to promote exams. The feminist group’s response doesn’t make sense either. (Who that would laugh at workplace breast exams wouldn’t also laugh at workplace penis exams?) I mean, really. How many Polish nonprofit organizations does it take to have an intelligent dialogue about breast cancer awareness?
Anonymous

ItÂ´s always the same thing: in response to a feministÂ´s protest everybody cames with the line “you donÂ´t have sense of humor”. the slogan is sexist. period.
- Brainspore
  
  ItÂ´s always the same thing: in response to a feministÂ´s protest everybody cames with the line “you donÂ´t have sense of humor”. the slogan is sexist. period.
  
  Sure the slogan is sexist and Piotrowska has every right to find it offensive, but her penis comment does lend credence to the theory that she has no concept of what other people consider “funny.” I’d wager the internet probably has a dozen dick jokes for every one about breasts.
  - Antinous / Moderator
    
    The equivalent for men is ‘I check the prostates of my workers on my own’. That’s a horse of a different color.
Lobster

I get where the feminists are coming from, but were I a woman I’d rather be mildly offended than die of breast cancer. Then again, I’m not a woman so maybe I have no place to say.

I think they’re trying too hard. It’s hard to say someone doesn’t care about women because their breast health awareness campaign is insensitive.
- Gloria
  
  Ah, yes. People who bother to be offended by ad campaigns are so strong-headed and one-minded that they’d surely risk death than let go of their delicate sensibilities!
  
  “Then again, I’m not a woman so maybe I have no place to say.”
  
  Wouldn’t agree with this either. Good on you to recognize you may be plain unable to empathize, despite the best intentions, but I’ve always found such comments unhelpful because it also implies that men’s views on feminism — whether sympathetic or not — are always invalid due to their sex, which is pretty much what feminism *isn’t* about.
  
  I’d rather focus on the argument rather than the sex of the arguer.
Jerril

were I a woman I’d rather be mildly offended than die of breast cancer.

The problem is that you see this as the choice. That’s a false choice – there’s a third option, where you don’t have to offend anyone, and still promote breast cancer awareness. Amazingly, most jurisdictions picked this route, and have managed it for a few decades now…
Dewi Morgan

Fine. Let them have their way. Change the ads to promote prostate and testicular cancer checks instead, which are hugely underfunded in most countries, compared to breast cancer. As others have said, these jokes are way funnier anyway.

But they can’t have it both ways. They get more investment into breast cancer than is invested in prostate or testicular cancer, and yet complain that the people guilty of this misandry are being sexist *against women*.

Maybe it’s not misandry. Maybe most men would sacrifice their own ass for the sake of boobs. :P
Anonymous

Because you wouldn’t really expect seeing ‘I check the penises of my workers on my own’, given our tendency to casually sexualize women more than men (women included), nor is there as much actual sexual molestation of men. I can see where they’re coming from, and to accuse them of overreacting doesn’t help. If you don’t care about the issue, the best thing is to just stay quiet. Feminists already have enough enemies.
vamidus

Actual slogan reads: “Piersi moich pracownic sam kontrolujÄ™.”

This is a slogan from a campaign to encourage directors of public institutions to have their female employees to do free breast scan on regular basis. This is a bad choice of words for a noble cause.
thanatomaton

You know, it *does* sound like a humorless reaction. It also sounds less like some kind of weird sloganeered come-on than it does like a mangled translation. Why the hell does everything have to be so sanitized and PC? It’s slowly sucking the goddamn life out the world, and it’s sad. Can we as a planet just suck it up already and admit that sometimes, and even against our better judgment occasionally, there are things that strike us as funny (even when they shouldn’t)? Christ.
brianary

“I wonder if this would be equally funny if it were changed to I check the pâ€”OK, bad example.”
Talia

“wonder if this would be equally funny if it were changed to ‘I check the penises of my workers on my own’.”"

Yes, yes it would. Lighten up, Frances.
teapot

I was hoping the original article might have a photo of the slogan in question but alas, it is not so..

original article

translated
Anonymous

I’ll trust that she’s horrified but I really don’t understand the slogan. He or she checks breasts on their own what? Or is it that he or she checks the breasts by themselves and, if so, how do they do that?

Is there something lost in translation perhaps? Anyone here know Polish? Maybe it should be translated “I personally check the breasts of my workers.” I can understand how that could be upsetting . . .
I less than three mermaids

Google sez “My breast alone in control workers”, which is just awesome if you read it a certain way.

Also, prostate exams- not that bad, get over it.

Also, Gloria- thank you!
Anonymous

That’s a poor translation, it doesn’t quite convey how smarmy the phrase sounds. It’s hard to translate this well into English, but it would work great with Mel Brooks’ “it’s good to be the king” facial expression, if that helps explain why women are upset by this.
alphagirl

Penis/Prostate checking= Absurd, not likely, therefore funny
Groping boobs= Could still be a real problem for female workers, therefore sexist and not funny
- Dewi Morgan
  
  That’s actually a reasonable approach to the issue of what’s funny and what’s not, yeah. I might buy that.
  
  Common bad stuff is “bad taste” humour (so jokes about victims of disease, starvation, war: bad taste), while rare bad stuff is not, because nobody’s likely to be affected (jokes about being killed by meteor strikes, lottery winnings, lightning).
  
  Yeah. I’ll go with that. However, I do not feel that “bad taste” must preclude “funny”.
rhino777

I wonder if this would be equally funny if it were changed to ‘I check the penises of my workers on my own’.”

Yep, still pretty funny…