Yuvraj Singh’s cancer foundation, YouWeCan, has been facing backlash on social media for using “oranges” as a stand-in for breasts in its latest cancer awareness poster. The posters, displayed inside Delhi Metro, encourage women to “check their oranges once a month” in order to detect cancer early. Many found the poster “problematic”, criticising it as a “horrendous way” to spread awareness about breast cancer. Some even said that the former cricketer’s foundation has “sexualised” the disease.
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A breast surgeon, whose mother passed away from Stage 4 breast cancer, shared his concerns about the poster on social media. Dr Jaison Philip expressed that his mother didn’t tell him about a small lump in her breast out of modesty, which could have saved her life. He urged the foundation not to “sexualize” it as it is the most common cancer among women worldwide.
He stressed, “There is nothing wrong in uttering the word Breast in the context of Breast Cancer diagnosis & management.”
One of the posters features women of all ages sitting on a bus, looking up at a woman standing in the aisle and holding two oranges, a visual metaphor for breasts.
Another poster that talks about the breast cancer reads, “Your health is in your hands. Look and feel once a month, because early detection saves lives.”
Another poster includes the message, “Your health is in your hands. Look and feel once a month, because early detection saves lives.” It depicts two women, with one holding a basket full of oranges in one hand and a single orange in the other, while the second woman looks at the basket.
Take a look at his entire post and the problematic poster below:
I hv a problem with this ad at Delhi Metro. My own loving dear mother died of Breast Cancer, which was Stage 4 at diagnosis. The irony was her son(me) ws a Breast Surgeon at that time, & out of modesty, she did not even tell her own son, when it ws a small lump, that ws… pic.twitter.com/U32P2euu6Z— Dr Jaison Philip. M.S., MCh (@Jasonphilip8) October 22, 2024
After going through the poster, an individual wrote, “This is unbelievably insensitive and crass!”
“Oranges. Seriously? They are doing Breast Cancer Awareness campaigning and can’t utter the word Breast. What a pathetic mindset!” added another.
A third posted, “Agree. In bad taste. Needs to be direct.”
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“I agree so much. Breast is not a bad word. Stop using metaphors. Remove the taboo,” expressed yet another.
A fifth said, “Comparing breasts with oranges tells a lot about the misogynistic way of looking at such a serious problem. Say it as it is! Check your breasts once in a month. Period.”
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