[insert color here]

I don't know about the rest of you-- but I already knew that breast cancer existed. And that, it seems to me, is the only thing it's possible for Facebook's post-your-bra-color-in-your-status phenomenon to "raise awareness" about. I'm not learning anything new about breast cancer: no interesting statistics, no prevention tips, nothing about donating to non-profits.

The only thing I am learning is what color your bra is. Which likely provokes a mental image of you, whoever you are, in your bra. And while the majority of facebook users wouldn't care at all, I have at least a few good guy friends who work hard at keeping their minds pure, and probably don't appreciate fighting off all of these mental images of girls they are friends with.

Just an opinion. Feel free to debate me on this one. And please, if you're reading this and participated, please don't think I am condemning you, or think less of you. At ALLLL. I'm absolutely not. I guess I'm just encouraging putting thought into what you do with your facebook page: Where did this phenomenon come from? Is it really helping anything?

My friend Mike Nichols said this in a recent Facebook status conversation: "A cure for breast cancer is a wonderful cause and I think we should raise money for it, but there's got to be a better way. What organization is putting it on? How do we know that they're legit? What if some teenage guy or dirty old man thought that it would be a good idea to find a way to get girls to post their bra colors? I mean, what legit organization would risk their reputation on such a ploy? I would believe it if it's a company that makes bras. That would be a clever way to gain product information. But honestly...if breast cancer is the only motivation for this idea, I would be very surprised. It would be pragmatism at its best/worst."