I don't know where Carol Lloyd is looking, but every fund-raising medium that I see still is pale and proud! (Avon Products, Susan J. Koven Foundation, etc.) I don't support a change of color as it will only result in mass confusion - nowadays everyone KNOWS what pink stands for, just like they know that red ribbons stand for AIDS. Why "rebrand" at this point?

This Boobie-thon is a fantastic idea, and going to a wonderful cause - but I have to say that Robyn didn't create something new here. She is hardly the first person to recognize that she can make money from selling images of her body, and it's hard to believe that she's just now realizing that breasts are a "shrewdly efficient way to raise money". As someone who has worked in the sex industry and who has absorbed critcism CONSTANTLY for doing exactly the same thing, I find it insulting that the Boobie-thon is being lauded as something new and unique. The fact is - and every stripper, escort and porn star can tell you this - that the male (usually, although sometimes female as well) sexual desire for visual stimulation translates into a lot of money, and in some cases, it allows women to accomplish their goals. Right or wrong, objectifying or not, it is the truth. Why is it lauded by feminists and society when it goes to a charity but generally looked down on by the same people when it goes to a woman's personal goals - be they raising a child, going to school, or just living a comfortable lifestyle?

I'm just tired of the constant assumptions that are made about women in the sex industry and why they do it, how they do it, and who forces them to do it - and then read an article like this in which, now that this person is not working in the mainstream sex industry, has done something positive and progressive. The ideas that this article puts forth are ideas that people in the sex industry have to fight to make heard, and even then rarely ever do - that women can CHOOSE to make money from our bodies or our sexuality, that it's not an irreversible set-back to feminism (or anti-feminist, for that matter), and in fact, yes, it can be empowering.

She may be onto something here - in fact, I hope corporate America doesn't learn to exploit this - I'd bet they'd try to sell beer and cars by using sexual images - and that would be bad.

Probably wouldn't work, though - can you imagine a beer commerical centered around a naked hot tub party?

Me either...

Why is it lauded by feminists and society when it goes to a charity but generally looked down on by the same people when it goes to a woman's personal goals - be they raising a child, going to school, or just living a comfortable lifestyle?

Y'know, I'm all for strippers, but I still think that's just a stupid question.

Excuse me Jessica, but I don't believe I I just now realized that breasts are a "shrewdly efficient way to raise money" nor did I try to publicly claim that I'm " creating something new here". In case you missed the title of this article, our fundraiser turned "five" this year. And if you'd bother to read our history on the site, our event started as somewhat of a joke among friends -- we were not even trying to raise money for charity. Call us naive. Whatever. But when we realized the power of what we were doing and how much we were making, we shifted gears and made sure the funds we were raising went to what we felt was the right place. Just as the funds you make went to raising a child, going to school, or whatever you chose to do with it.

We've been around since 2002 and we're still going strong. Over $26,000 donated to date before 2006's event even kicks off on 10/1. In fact if you'll read through the site you'll find we're quite proud of proclaiming we are not new -- we've been around the block a few times -- and we intend to keep renting the building each fall.

I happen to think sending a message that "if our breasts are worth looking at, they're worth saving" is very empowering. Our causes are not separate. Just different. You are creating a dividing line. Not me. But then again, I back up my tatas with action rather than just whining about the state of things around us. Those who can, do. Those who can't...well you probably know the rest...

You're just tired of the constant assumptions. I'm just tired of people attacking what we do and how we do it before even bothering to read the history page on our site.

-Robyn Pollman

Boobie-Thon Founder

5 years and counting

I think this a great idea. It's the first time I had heard of it. I sent in photos and posted about the Boobie-thon on my blog. I sent out emails to friends to send on to their friends. I'm hoping that my friends choose to give. I haven't been touched by breast cancer, but I'm happy to help any way I can to provide better care and cures.

Yes, great idea! And I think it would be great to have some penis-a-thons too! I would SO pay a lot of money for that. And if it went to charity I could get my jollies off of seeing a bunch of penises _and_ feel good about it too!

Robyn - I'm so sorry if I offended you somehow. That was absolutely not my intention, neither was it to draw a dividing line - just the opposite. I think what you're doing is courageous and I fully support it. I was simply trying to point out, as a person who has endured criticism for some of my choices, that there are always hundreds of ways to view something controversial like women making money from pictures of their bodies. You have found this to be true as well, obviously, and you are doing something very productive with it.

I certainly wasn't trying to attack you, and I'm sure that you are tired of feeling as though you are being attacked for what you're doing - I would hate to contribute to your feeling that way. But I stand by what I said, in terms of women having the right to do whatever they want with their bodies for whatever reason they choose to - which you are an outstanding example of. I was responding more to the wording in the article, rather than the idea behind Boobie-thon, which did make it sound like women profiting off of images of their bodies was something new, which clearly, it isn't.

I hope to never draw dividing lines between women - I support other women's choices, almost to a fault, and I can't stress enough that that was not my intention. I whole-heartedly agree with what you and "Boobie-thon" represent and what you're doing, and congratulations on your 5-year anniversary.