Imagine this. You're going along, having a good, or even great day, and then suddenly *BOOM!* Along comes yet another cause invite meme or FB status meme telling you to stop what you're doing to take a moment to do something really ridiculous and THEN you'll be aware and promoting awareness of breast cancer, and be sure to tell all your friends to do likewise!
Or else, you're having a down day and the same thing happens. You could even be having a down day because someone you know is actually suffering from cancer, or maybe you've just found out you have it. Or maybe you or a loved one has just recovered from it and it would be nice not to have to be reminded of it over and over again and just try to live life.
But no. The meme originators and re-starters really don't want us thinking about any of that.
The meme started out as "Take action!" type notes, or insufferable, cringe-inducing piles of sad schlock like this.
Then things got really twisted.
The meme invaded social networks disguised as fun and games for a secret good cause.
for anyone who might be new to this scheme and wondering what the heck all these hearts or seemingly mysterious statuses are doing suddenly appearing on Facebook profiles, and why it's hitting only one gender, this is how it goes.
The wall/profile heart mutation:
The meme spreads via private message from/to women on FB, or favourite social network, who then do as it tells them, in this case, putting hearts on their profiles without comment. It's not some kind of social network platform magic or weird glitch, it's a meme that spreads in two ways. Publicly, in the form of the profile heart infestation. Privately in the form of the message telling women to put hearts on their profiles without comment, and to forward the inbox message to other women for them to do likewise. Thus, the meme spreads and spreads.
And why?
Well, breast cancer, don'tcha know!? of course! After all, breast cancer needs an awareness months, and a prevention awareness week, and probably they'll eventually make a meme about the year of breast cancer too...
This isn't new. The scheme has been around since 2010 in one form or another, from bra colors to hearts.
It started with bra color statuses, then in subsequent years as "how you like it" - as in where you put your purse, "How long it takes you" - to do your hair, "size in inches" - what your shoe size is, "Pregnancy and cravings" - ... "Put a heart on your profile, just a heart" ..... And it's all so coy, "Hush, hush, don't explain it, just keep the men guessing! But us gals, we knows it's actually for breast cancer awareness, Rah rah sistas! Aren't we the cute, witty wonders, us females?"
In each case, the meme spread twice, once via private instruction from girl to girl, second, with hearts or such stats posted on profiles, to keep 'em guessing..
Shoe Size And How Long It Takes To Do Your Hair
Some of these memes get recycled years after their initial explosion on the net. The breast cancer hearts game started in 2012 and recycled in 2017.
Not only do these stupid games actually do nothing to stop any kind of cancer, society is well aware of breast cancer and it along with other diseases need to be prevented. No version of any social network coy female solidarity chain letter game is going to do a thing for scientific research and actual disease prevention.
And gosh, some of us have had it to hear with cancer blast memes.
The trolls who start memes know just how to rope people (especially women in this case) into the same old stinking game every time.
The point is, there's never a good time to send/repost or be on the receiving end of this gauche meme.
It doesn't matter how noble the cause, please, for the love of all things honest and good, even for the love of solidarity, please please PLEASE - have a HEART! have a real heart, not the ascii kind seen in the July 2012 and February 2017 mutations of the breast cancer women-be-coy meme. Have a real heart, and stop participating in and replicating all of these memes!
Over and out!
Comment options: