Pink Ribbon Review | Raising Breast Cancer Awareness

History of the Pink Ribbon

by Karen Lynch on April 2nd, 2008

As a kid growing up in the 1970s, I remember belting out the lyrics ‘tie a yellow ribbon round the old oak tree’ each time we got into the car to head anywhere and that song was playing. As a result, I became acutely aware, at a young age, that yellow ribbons were an outward sign to the world that someone was away from home and sorely missed.

Though a yellow ribbon had been mentioned in song before, that was the first use of a colored ribbon as an awareness symbol.

During the 1991 Race for the Cure in New York City, the Komen Foundation handed out pink ribbons to participants. The following year, the editor-in-chief of SELF magazine and Evelyn Lauder collaborated on a campaign to distribute millions of pink ribbons and breast self examination instruction cards throughout 12,000 beauty advisors and 2,500 Estee Lauder counters nationwide. It was the first national breast cancer awareness campaign — focused on educating people about the importance of early detection.

To this day, pink ribbons are used in conjunction with breast cancer related charities and fundraisers — their scope has broadened to go beyond awareness of the importance of breast self-examination into overall symbolism of all things breast cancer related. Many people feel that come October, the world is too pink, that the significance of the ribbon has been squashed in a flurry of marketing and public relations efforts. But I say let’s not lose sight of their importance … pink ribbons were originally meant to raise awareness of a simple, life-saving procedure called the BSE (breast self exam). And if one more women gets that message each October … well, one more woman is good enough for me.

Yes, I’m a huge fan of the pink ribbon. Are you?

(Image: Carol Sutton)

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