Justin's Marketing Blog

Breast Cancer Awareness: The Role of Memes

By Justin Spector February 28, 2026

“Png pink ribbon sticker, breast“/ CC0 1.0

Breast Cancer Awareness

Breast cancer is an illness which has affected many people, which makes it a cause which many feel is worth furthering awareness. Every October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month takes place, and it is commonplace to see pink ribbons worn and used in advertisements. This has also emerged on social media platforms in recent times. According to Mahoney and Tang Tang, “One of the most powerful forms of social media mobilization is cyberactivism. Here, individuals utilize the Internet to promote a particular cause or charity. Every person has their owIn cause that is close to their heart, and we often feel these things speak closely to our life experience and identity.” (Mahoney, L. M., & Tang, T. (2016)) Although posting to social media is a form of awareness, it is not as successful at retaining audience attention to the cause.

How Memes Have Promoted Awareness

Social Media sites such as Facebook have long allowed audiences to share posts and groups which promote a c⁸ause. Breast cancer awareness has followed the same idea with users especially in October sharing posts about the impact of breast cancer on women and families and links to causes who donate and focus specifically on breast cancer related awareness, such as the Susan G. Komen Foundation. “These memes are very successful at diffusing a message and getting individuals to participate. They are filled with fun personalization. Individuals who share the message feel good about doing their part to spread breast cancer awareness.” ((Mahoney, L. M., & Tang, T. (2016)) One meme which proved popular asked female users on Facebook to choose a color which matched the bra they were wearing and post a single post which said their name followed by the color. The purpose was to confuse men who logged in who upon learning what these posts meant would promote further breast cancer awareness.

Photo by Leeloo The First on Pexels.com

The Problem With This Approach

Although using memes and other posts on social media is useful to spreading awareness about the cause, questions arise about the actual impact which this approach has in making a difference in reality. “The Susan G. Komen Foundation reported an increase in interest and contributions following the popular viral memes” (Stein, 2010) However, these memes rarely address the fact that breast cancer is not limited to affecting women and 2,000 men were diagnosed and 400 men die from breast cancer each year. Instead of using memes and vague posts, users could find ways which actually make an impact such as posting links to foundations such as the Susan G. Komen Foundation or to volunteering at a local hospital in a chemotherapy unit. While the thought behind spreading awareness is a great cause which gets users thinking about it, having follow up where audiences donate to mobilization efforts such as monetarily to a group whose entire mission is supporting breast cancer patients and their family or working with patients and making a difference in their lives in a hands on approach would be much more beneficial to the cause than simply posting a meme which could be viewed but then forgotten.

Reference

Mahoney, L. M., & Tang, T. (2016). Strategic Social Media: From Marketing to Social Change. Wiley Global Research (STMS). https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/books/9781118556900

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I am a graduate student at Southern New Hampshire University pursuing a master’s degree. I am passionate about my family, reading, and learning. I studied history as an undergraduate and enjoy increasing my knowledge on various topics in that field. I enjoy movies and books.

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