Breast cancer awareness: I like it

I covered Tuesday's Breast Cancer Awareness Luncheon, hosted by the Columbus Regional Medical Foundation.

It was nice swimming in a sea of pink for two hours, surrounded by people who pride themselves on themes like courage and authenticity, rather than the intricacies of mammogram debates.

For me, that's what Breast Cancer Awareness Month is about.

Sometimes sexual innuendo muddies that message.

Last year, women posted their bra colors on Facebook -- in the name of promoting "awareness." No, not for Victoria's Secret styles. For breast cancer.

This year, we saw "I like it on the" as a Facebook status update. No, silly boys: We weren't telling you where we like to get romantic. We were telling you where we put our handbags. Which totally screams "breast cancer awareness."

Arguably, any form of awareness is better than nothing.

But when my friends posted their bra colors, follow-up comments spanned pickup lines and lingerie shopping tips.

Nobody mentioned breast cancer's severity. Even worse, nobody mentioned Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Obviously, Facebook is a tool with potential to broaden our minds on topics deeper than FarmVille. It alerts us to missing children and doubles as a prayer group in the face of death.

Given that potential, I'm disappointed that Facebook's most dominant breast cancer efforts resort to a belief that sex sells awareness.

Why not post a survivor's name as your status? Why not post a number that marks the survivors you've met, or the victims who have passed away?

Perhaps bra colors and vague sexual references are saving lives.

But when it comes to my preferred form of awareness, I like it on the non-sexual.