Smear tests aren't exactly the most exciting of prospects, and the number of young women going for their screenings for cervical cancer (that doesn't really make it sound any less daunting, sorry) has dropped since Jade Goody's death brought attention to the issue.
Responding to the fact that one in three women aged 25 to 29 do not get their smear tests, Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust has launched the #SmearForSmear campaign. The idea is, women upload selfies where they've purposefully-smeared their lipstick with the hashtag to give people the opportunity to talk about smear tests in a more accessible way than, say, posting a photo of a used cervical swab.
There are problems with the campaign – make-up really isn't integral to every woman's life, and smearing lipstick implies that the actual test involves smearing something about inside a woman's vagina (it really doesn't) – but we get that it's got us talking about cervical smear tests. And hopefully, hopefully, this'll convert into all five million of us invited every year for a smear test, to actually turn up.
Perhaps the best thing about this campaign is also the worst thing; people aren't being asked to donate to charity when they do a #SmearForSmear selfie. Because, and this is the worst thing, it's actually free to go and get a smear test, it can be done on the NHS. It's just that so many women don't. This movement, then, can involve way more selfish contribution than last year's #NoMakeUpSelfie, because all you have to do is something that could, potentially, be very good for you and your health.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.