I've bought my share of overpriced bridesmaid's dresses, but here's something that's really catching on among poor Midwesterners (at least in my life): bridesmaids dresses don't have to match. Really! I was in a dear friend's wedding a few years ago, and she decided that she wanted her bridesmaids to find their own…

But the matching bridesmaids dresses that are explicitly bridesmaids dresses thing is dying out with the quickness anyway. When I was in my early twenties, I had to go get fitted for bridesmaids dresses every time. The last three weddings I attended the bridesmaids were wearing their own dresses in a color (/family)…

Or we could just do away with matching bridesmaids dresses, which are a weird tradition anyway. I'm not sure why several women wearing the same color became the best way to frame a wedding or decorate wedding party photos, but it's just odd. Your wedding, and its photos, will be perfectly lovely even if they are…

Or people could choose dresses that ARE reusable. Don't lots of women own single color nice dresses? My bridesmaids had not super fancy matching dresses, looked fantastic, and more than one of them has told me she's gotten to wear the dress from time to time. I just got fitted for my first bridesmaids dress today…

Republicans,

My sister did everything right- she ate well, she exercised, she did everything all of the sappy women's articles told her she should do and still got breast cancer. The thing that really made it hell was in fact, the unknown. Every time she went to the doctor she had a 50/50 chance of hearing more incredibly bad…

In the midst of all the pinkwashing that goes on in October, it's also important to retain perspective on what breast cancer is and what it isn't. A couple years ago, science writer Christie Aschwanden provided some really great perspective on the subject:

A very good friend of mine lost her mother around the same time you did due to breast cancer. She HATES Komen. Your resentment makes perfect sense to me after seeing what she and her family went through. I'm so sorry for your loss.

In Pink Ribbon Blues, one of the biggest complaints was that Komen refused to help or utilize those who were in Stages 4 and 5. The idea was that because they were "hopeless," people might not want to help or give. Komen tends to stick with Stages 1-3 women for the "pretty" factor and the higher success rate of…

My mother died of breast cancer in 1988, after battling it for about 8 years. I was a teenager when she passed. My resentment towards pinkwashing is two-fold. My mother had breast cancer before 'it was cool' , so to speak because I can't think of another way to put it. Back then it was marginalizing and painful to…

My boyfriend's school had students paint their hands pink and stamp them on a board labeled We <3 Boobies. My boyfriend claims they are promoting breast cancer awareness. I told him that painting your hand on a board does nothing for breast cancer awareness. They didn't distribute any literature or even give…

Erin! I know there's an endless list of these, but how could you leave out my most favoritest one?!?!

My biggest pet peeve right now is all the people who post things on facebook about how important it is to 'raise awareness' and how that supports cancer patients/survivors.

I FUCKING HATE PINKWASHING! I HATE IT HATE IT HATE IT! THINKING ABOUT IT MAKE ME TALK IN ALL CAPS, THAT'S HOW MUCH I HATE IT!

Seriously sick of everyone wearing pink "for Breast Cancer" when it does absolutely nothing for people suffering from breast cancer. Last week someone mentioned "go topless for breast cancer day" and I swear I hated all men for the next 24 hours.

Let's also not forget that people who want to support their own personal causes this month can be prevented from doing so because they get drowned out in the Pink Sea

Maybe he actually read the book. It's almost like anyone who wants their career taken seriously doesn't want anything to do with this movie. Or something.

Today we are cancelling the apocalypse!

...That's what he said?

I'm betting this movie is going to be 50 Shades of going straight to video.