- Apr 2018
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www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com
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Today, however, it's the biggest disease on the cultural map, bigger than Aids, cystic fibrosis or spinal injury, bigger even than those more prolific killers of women – heart disease, lung cancer, and stroke.
Important information
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- Mar 2018
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www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com
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In the mainstream of breast cancer culture, there is very little anger, no mention of possible environmental causes, and few comments about the fact that, in all but the more advanced, metastasised cases, it is the "treatments", not the disease, that cause the immediate illness and pain.
She is questioning why there are not better explanations for the illness and why treatments cause so much pain to patients when they are meant to be helping - she is angry about this.
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for example, of cosmetics and jewellery – could be understood as a response to the treatments' disastrous effects on one's looks. There is no doubt, though, that all the prettiness and pinkness is meant to inspire a positive outlook.
Argument she is making that all the feminine products that are sold to create "awareness" are a response to the awful effects that cancer treatment has on women's looks. However, she still believes that all this "prettiness and pinkness" is used to inspire people with a positive outlook on the disease.
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in most cases a portion of the sales goes to breast cancer research
Kind of a shocking point to the reader - you would think that in all cases of people selling items to promote breast cancer awareness that they would donate some money to the charity. Not just "most" of the cases. Is she suggesting that selling items to promote "awareness" is now becoming a business for some people? Are they more interested in making money rather than creating awareness or raising money for the charity? Possible argument?
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not everyone views the disease with horror and dread
Important observation which will link into her argument #1
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sugar-coating illnesses can exact a dreadful cost
Argument #1
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www.jacobinmag.com www.jacobinmag.com
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Yet with the vast majority of workers effectively invisible to elites busy in their lovable occupations
I agree with this point that the work done by lower level workers in a business probably is "invisible" to the workers at the top of the business, or as this article calls them "elites". For example, I can relate to this if I think of all the work that is done just to prepare the classrooms I and other students use everyday. Without the janitors that prepare and clean the classrooms daily, the classrooms would not be fit for use, therefore our classes would not be able to take place. Even though I understand how important the work the janitors do is, I don't necessarily think about it every time I walk into a classroom. Arguably, I have only really thought about how important their work is since reading this article. Therefore, I can relate to the argument that work done by people lower down in a hierarchy can be "invisible" to people higher up (elites).
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Sehnsucht
Definition of Sehnsucht - "yearning; wistful longing."
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mantra
Definition of mantra - "(originally in Hinduism and Buddhism) a word or sound repeated to aid concentration in meditation."
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