‘Look at me!’ Post-mastectomy transformative politics

Abstract

Breast cancer received little attention until the 1990s when women began to criticize the lack of public awareness as well as research funding. Breast cancer activism emerged across the globe, ranging from feminist grass-roots movements, to initiatives by health organizations to corporate activities, the most famous being Pink Ribbon. Feminists have been critical of Pink Ribbon, decrying what they call the ‘pink-washing’ of breast cancer through consumerism and the insistence that breast cancer survivors should ‘look good in order to feel good’. In this article, I explore activism that makes breast cancer visible without silencing its traumas. This activism takes the form of artistic projects – fashion, art, photography, and other forms of aesthetic expression. Drawing upon the work of the queer theorist Dina Georgis, I ultimately turn to the SCAR Project as example of a ‘better story’ about living with the post-mastectomy body and show how it can inspire a transformative feminist politics of the body.