Blogger Boobie-thon 2005

OK, OK, I know the title is a bit suggestive. And the contents of the Boobie-thon site are definitely suggestive (the main page is work-safe, but the picture pages are NOT). BUT, BUT, BUT, BUT...it's all for a good cause.

The Blogger Boobie-thon is in it's fourth year of celebrating and honoring boobs (of both women and men) while raising money for the Susan G. Komen Foundation and this year, also the American Red Cross to benefit victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Anyone and everyone (18 years old and up) can submit pictures to the site. Covered boob pics go on the free page and bare boob pics go on the password-protected pay-to-view page. Donors must pledge at least $50 to see the uncovered boobs.

As I said, both men and women participate, including several breast cancer survivors. All photos are posted anonymously. Participants can have their website linked on a participants' page in random order, but there is no tie to the picture (so no one knows who's boobs are who's!).

$8696.30 was raised in 2004. This year's total raised so far is $6790.40 (last updated 4:35 p.m. EDT on 10/06/05). The event officially kicked off on Saturday, October 1, 2005, and will run through 11:59 p.m. EDT on Saturday, October 8, 2005, so there's still time to make a donation. Even if it's $5 or $10, every bit counts.

The Boobie-thon was featured in a WIRED magazine article. From the article: One blogger says

"she still thinks the Boobie-Thon is "genius."

"It's a way to flip it around," she says. "We take our power back. It's like, 'These are our boobs and we're raising money with them.' It's not done in a trashy way at all."

It should also be noted that

...this is not porn. "Our (website) host does not house pornographic websites on (its) servers, and does not consider our content as such," Robyn (founder of Boobie-thon) says. "Although some breasts are uncovered on the password-protected site, we do not accept sexually explicit photographs."

I wish I would've learned of this earlier on so that I could do my part to promote it and breast cancer awareness for the entire week.

Help support breast cancer research, education and outreach by making a donation today! No amount is too small! Or if you are feeling adventurous, submit your photo.

Fellow bloggers, if you'd like to put up a link to the Boobie-thon on your site, go here.

What's that? You want to know if I submitted a picture for the cause? Yes, yes, I did. Three in fact. Which ones are they? Well, here's a hint - they are (or will soon be) posted in the free section (so, yes, my boobs are covered). ;) Two were just for fun and one includes a PSA about the correlation between breastfeeding and the risk of developing breast cancer. That one I will share with you here.
From the American Cancer Society website- "Some studies have shown that breast-feeding slightly lowers breast cancer risk, especially if the breast-feeding lasts 1½ to 2 years. This could be because breast-feeding lowers a woman’s total number of menstrual periods, as does pregnancy. One study found that having more children and breast-feeding longer could reduce the risk of breast cancer by half."

Here are a couple articles with information about how breastfeeding can help lower the risk of breastfeeding:
- Extra breastfeeding 'prevents cancer'
- Can breastfeeding protect you from breast cancer?
- What Causes Breast Cancer?
- 101 Reasons to Breastfeed

Make a donation today! :) Thanks!

Hmm, I was just thinking about it and I'm guessing they won't be able to post that pic of me and the babe cuz she's a minor. Arg. Guess we'll just wait and see what they do with it. Here I thought I was being so creative. I guess it's the thought that counts, right?

Update 9:15 p.m. 10/6/05: They used my breastfeeding pic after all. (It's on page 5.)Yay! :-)