Last week, a video called “Potty-Mouthed Princesses Drop F-Bombs for Feminism” was posted online by the organization FCKH8. The video features young girls around the age of 10 repeatedly swearing and delivering “pro-feminist” messages about issues such as pay inequality, body shaming and rape.
Now, you might be thinking, “Wow, that sounds incredibly problematic!” and you would be absolutely correct!
Don’t get me wrong, these issues are all very important issues — ones that people should be discussing — but not through the mouths of children.
I’d also like to make something else clear: The swearing is the least offensive part of the video. Sure, adults shouldn’t be telling them to say bad words, but more importantly, they shouldn’t be instilling in them the fear of rape.
The most disturbing scene comes when the five girls give the statistic that one in five women are sexually assaulted at some point in their lives. The kids then count from one to five and ask, “Which one of us will it be?”
The whole idea of using people, in this case pre-teen girls, to deliver a message they don’t fully understand is disgusting. Do you think any of these girls showed up to the audition with advanced knowledge on the injustice of pay inequality in America? Do you think any of them even understood what rape is? I highly doubt it.
During the section on pay inequality, one of the girls says, “I shouldn’t need a penis to get paid.” In an effort to make this alliterative saying, FCKH8 chose to ignore the fact that this statement is transphobic and inaccurate. It's important to remember that men have privileges because they are men, not because they have penises, and that not all people who identify as men have penises. If this is not acknowledged, all people who do not conform to the imposed gender binary are excluded and left out. This organization claims to be progressive, but it clearly doesn't take inclusion very seriously.
I also had a problem with the way the children are sexualized during the part on body shaming. While reminding people that it is wrong for people to tell women what to wear and treat them like sexual objects, the kids refer to their “boobs and butts,” asking why those matter more than brains. Again, this issue is most likely one that they cannot fully grasp.
At the end of the video, when one of the adult advocates for FCKH8 says, “Instead of cleaning these girls’ mouths out with soap, maybe society should clean up its act.” I couldn’t help agreeing, but I also think that she should do her own part in cleaning up FCKH8’s act. After all, the two adults in the video seem to get the point across just as well as the children, so why exploit these kids in the first place?
If FCKH8 really wants to attempt to fight the oppression of women, it should deliver its own message instead of using young girls as a shield. The issues brought forth in the video are important, and deserve to be addressed maturely.
Reach the columnist at William.Ruof@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @willruof
Editor’s note: The opinions presented in this column are the author’s and do not imply any endorsement from The State Press or its editors.
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