Over the last week, you might have noticed friends posting things like "black lace" or "purple" as their status updates on Facebook. The colors represent bra colors, and the meme, spread in a chain e-mail, was supposed to promote breast cancer awareness (though it was not associated with any particular group--Wild Apricot takes a look at the e-mail's origins) but is now facing a backlash among bloggers who wonder what good it really does. "Does anyone on Facebook really not know about breast cancer to the point where someone posting 'purple lace!' and eight dudes responding, 'Ooh, hot, lol' is really doing to anything to really help the cause in any possible way?" writes Jezebel, criticizing Facebook for "congratulating itself on the viral 'awareness' campaign." As The Human Condition points out, "It's harmless, I guess, but also pointless...[The original e-mail] ends: 'It will be fun to see how long it takes before the men will wonder why all the girls have a color on their status!' That's what this is mostly about: not cancer, but flirting."

“Listen, if you want to talk about your skivvies on Facebook, more power to you. You don't need a supposedly virtuous excuse to do it,” writes Feministing. “And if you really want to make a difference in women's lives, advocate for more comprehensive health care, get involved in raising money for heart disease (the #1 killer of women) or those disproportionately affected by breast cancer.”