The Commodification Culture Concerning Breast Cancer Patients
College
Arts & Letters
Program
M.A. Lifespan & Digital Communication
Publication Date
3-28-2019
Abstract
This paper reveals the relationship between the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation (SGKBCF), Inc. (2018) and the persistent commodification of breast cancer patients and their co-survivors: sensitive narratives, community volunteering, charitable donation opportunities, and the feminine opacity ideology that’s apparent throughout the breast cancer journey. The SGKBCF and its invisible interminable sponsors, strategically combine emotional survivor communication narratives across multicultural and multigenerational populations. The SGKBCF then entices consumers and retailers to specifically engage with unlimited data tracking e-commerce links, and are tied to the foundation’s various social media platforms. Subject matter experts, scholarly research, and a case study disclosed within the text, will analyze and uncover the patterns connecting the iconic breast cancer foundation with actively supporting neoliberal political-economic maneuvers. These maneuvers infinitely regenerate the commodification succession cycle of patients diagnosed with breast cancer. The participants involve: women between the ages of 18-36, that have ever been diagnosed with breast cancer and that currently live in the U.S.A. The methods involve: an anonymous 7-point Likert Scale and the Constant Comparative Method. This method will be utilized for the data analysis portion in order to classify patterns, themes, and demographics recorded within the data. The results will indicate that the SGKBCF Inc. (2018) manipulates breast cancer illness, the symbolic meaning tied to the signature pink ribbon (especially during the months October and May) and instills false consciousness onto consumers engaging on the foundation's social media platforms. Future research: ethnography, sample participant population applied globally, applying the Social Stigma theory and integrating the Communication Adaptability Scale to the research study.
Files
Recommended Citation
Roman, Priscilla, "The Commodification Culture Concerning Breast Cancer Patients" (2019). College of Arts and Letters Posters. 9.
https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/arts_and_letters/9