Opinion: F-Bombs for Feminism video raises awareness in wrong way

Aubrey Cornwell
Mon, 10 Nov 2014 04:23:15 +0000
Opinion, fckh8, feminism, ohio state, opinion, osu, social issues

The F-Bombs for Feminism video on the FCKH8 website
Credit: Screenshot of FCKH8.com

F-Bombs For Feminism by clothing company FCKH8 — a video of little girls in princess costumes yelling profane words and talking about equal pay, rape and physical appearance to spread word about gender equality — has been the recent hype on Facebook.

Many people are empowered by this video. They think that it is sending a great message — people care more about little girls swearing than they do about the female race being treated unequally in society.

However, there’s never a time when it is acceptable for little girls to be swearing. I understand that they’re trying to prove it will upset viewers, but these girls are young and should not be exposed to such inappropriate language.

Take into consideration other organizations like United Nations Women. UN Women is a global campaign for gender equality that goes about spreading awareness in a more mature and appropriate manner. For example, Nicole Kidman is a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador, and the group has launched advisory groups in several countries to spread the word.

FCKH8 also has these young girls talking about rape.

Rape is a sensitive yet important topic to be informed on, regardless of age, gender or culture. It’s a daunting concept that people ought to be aware of, but young girls who don’t understand what sex is shouldn’t be the ones expected to spread the facts.

The organization Equality Now has a campaign that you might be familiar with, #BringBackOurGirls, which takes action trying to bring back the Chibok, Borno State, Nigeria, school girls who were abducted.?

Rather than having videos of girls yelling about rape, the organization has made global protests and campaigns and has had people around the world spreading the word and awareness — an effective technique seeing as many people know what #BringBackOurGirls is about.

And lastly, if you feel strongly about gender equality and want to make a donation, you should be aware that FCKH8 is a for-profit T-shirt company. This video that exploits these young girls is being used more as a commercial means to sell their product.

Some of FCKH8’s anti-sexism T-shirts
Credit: Screenshot of FCKH8.com

This being said, the T-shirt that you purchase through their website benefits their company and production. You’re not donating to the cause or helping the issue of gender equality. It’s essentially a for-profit organization with a nonprofit message.

The video says, though, that $5 from each shirt goes toward charities that fight for equal rights

Do you want to wear your beliefs of sexism on your shirt? Check out the apparel offered through fully nonprofit organizations, ones that even had the slogans on their shirts before FCKH8 came around.?

You can voice your opinion and donate to the cause by purchasing through companies like Feminist Apparel and Feminist Majority Foundation.?

By no means am I against gender equality, and I think that should be made clear. I fully support organizations like UN Women and Equality Now that are looking to make changes around to make our world a safe living environment for the female race.

However, I don’t support young girls swearing and talking about rape freely. And I don’t support making these children discuss such topics to not necessarily prove a point and promote gender equality, but to sell a T-shirt so a company can make money.