Cricketer Yuvraj Singh’s non-profit YouWeCan Foundation has sparked controversy for their new breast cancer awareness advertisement that referred to breasts as “oranges”.
What Caused the Controversy?
The ad, which was displayed in a Delhi Metro coach, went viral after a passenger clicked a photo and shared it on their social media.
The seemingly AI-generated ad featured a young woman holding two oranges while on a bus, surrounded by elderly women. One of the latter of was holding a crate of oranges.
It read: “Check your oranges once a month. Early detection saves lives.”
Sharing the post their X account Confusedicius, a user wrote, “How will a country raise Breast Cancer Awareness is we can’t even call breasts what they are. Saw this at Delhi Metro and like what the hell? Check your oranges? Who makes these campaigns, who approves them? Are we governed by such dumb people that they let this poster become public? Shameful and embarrassing.”
How will a country raise Breast Cancer Awareness is we can’t even call breasts what they are. Saw this at Delhi Metro and like what the hell? Check your oranges? Who makes these campaigns, who approves them? Are we governed by such dumb people that they let this poster become… pic.twitter.com/YAZ5WYSxXf
— Confusedicius (@Erroristotle) October 22, 2024
The user also tagged Yuvraj Singh in a subsequent post, urging him to take down the “offensive” campaign.
“While your intent might be in the right place, I would suggest you take this campaign off. It’s just really offensive and unbelievable,” they wrote to the cricketer.
The Internet Reacts:
As the ad went viral, it drew backlash from almost all quarters, with many condemning the insensitivity and unnecessary censor on the word “beasts”, believing that it was harmful in the long-run.
Appalling!
— Tushar Mehta (@1_TusharMehta) October 23, 2024
@YUVSTRONG12 breasts are breasts
Oranges are oranges 🙄— Control… Control Sanju (@GalOutOfControl) October 22, 2024
Many also pointed out that Yuvraj Singh was a cancer-survivor himself, which is what makes the insensitivity of this ad particularly shocking.
Senior Journalist Reacts:
Rituparna Chatterjee, a senior journalist, took to LinkedIn to share her opinion about the ad, agreeing with the passenger’s original opinion.
“If we are unwilling to say the word “breast” for breast cancer, how on earth will we start dialogue and spread awareness? What is this prudishness? There is a reason why early sexual violence campaigners insist children are taught the actual names of private body parts so they can clearly articulate bad touch to their parents and authorities – vagina, penis.”
“Check your breasts, not oranges, for lumps,” she advised.
NGO Responds:
Following the viral backlash, YouWeCan took some steps to remedy the situation, deleting a post about the campaign from their official Instagram page.
On the other hand, the non-profit seemingly justified the ad by calling it a “bold creative choice” in response to Chatterjee’s critical post.
On the other hand though, the organization seemingly defended the ad under Chatterjee’s critical post by calling it a “bold creative choice”.
““We deeply appreciate every perspective and your feedback is important to us,” they wrote. At YouWeCan, we know firsthand how difficult it is to get people to talk openly about breast cancer. It’s a topic that many avoid, unless it impacts them personally or someone close to them.”
Explaining that their primary intention was to break the silence surrounding breast cancer, YouWeCan added, “Our use of oranges in the campaign was a bold creative choice, carefully thought through, with the goal of breaking the silence surrounding breast cancer. We would never use creative strategies to ridicule or diminish a cause that is so close to our hearts. We are proud that this campaign has already achieved significant success, with more and more people engaging with the topic positively and opening up vital conversations about early detection. Ultimately, our focus remains on driving impactful conversations that lead to life-saving actions, and we are dedicated to pushing this mission forward.”
However, YouWeCan’s explanation backfired, as Chatterjee took to her account once again to reply to them.
“I think you have read enough responses to know that even though your intent wasn’t wrong, your strategy was,” she wrote. “When a roomful of women are telling you that your campaign is making them uncomfortable, kindly listen, acknowledge and pledge to do better. This is a matter of women’s body that you cannot mansplain to women or talk over them. I am happy to explain on a personal capacity (as I only can speak for myself) why it makes me and perhaps other women uncomfortable. For the longest time breasts were hyper-sexualised in visual and textual art as edibles such as melons, accompanied by crass and graphic jokes. All of this originating from boys’ locker room talk. It took us years to find the vocabulary, courage, and awareness to speak up on many things related to wellness, for eg, periods. Many of us campaigned against the ridiculous blue ink they showed to signify period blood on TV. Women need to use words and visuals to speak clearly about their conditions. You suggesting adult women need euphemisms to speak about their breasts in context of their wellness indicates you are discounting the intelligence or agency of your major target audience.”
YouWeCan, which was established in 2012, aims to “empower all people to fight cancer, through awareness, early detection, patient support, and survivor empowerment,” according to their website.
