October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and Canadian charity organization Rethink Breast Cancer is launching an iPhone/Droid app that encourages women to stay on top of their self-exams: Your Man Reminder. The free app features a bevy of buff dudes for your educational…pleasure(?): a shirtless guy of your choice will appear on your phone monthly as if by pec- er, tech magic, to remind you to examine your own boobs with a little TLC (“Touch, Look, Check”). There’s also a calendar feature to help you manage doctor’s appointments and a “Signs and Symptoms” tab to address questions and concerns you might have about breast cancer. It’s strange for sure—but will it be effective?
MJ DeCoteau, the Executive Director of Rethink Breast Cancer, says, “Our experience is that many young women are not aware of their risk for breast cancer. The use of ‘hot guys’ as a reminder for women to be breast aware is actually a great way for them to learn about breast health in a non-scary way. The idea behind our education initiatives is to break through the information clutter and remind women to know their bodies and be proactive in protecting them.”
Here’s a video introducing the app, as well as the breast-health hunks it features:
[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsyE2rCW71o 425×344]I’m not titillated by their titty-touching antics, but I think they’re hilarious. The end of the video reminds me of these photos of men in classic pin-up poses, and I love the nod the video makes to the stupid pop-culture phenomenon of “sexy women selling unsexy shit to men.”
What do you think about Your Man Reminder? Do you think it’s a funny and clever way to address an important issue, or a pandering tactic that relies on gender stereotypes and sexualizes a serious disease? Is the app dumb-genius or just plain dumb?
