Potty-Mouthed Princesses

In the height of the recent push for feminism, the radicals have taken the spotlight. Any time something is in the news, the anchors are criticizing the extremeness for their actions. The latest act of radicalism comes from the group FCKH8. In late October they released a video on youtube. It is titled “Potty-Mouth Princesses” and has caused quite a stir in the American public. With hundreds of thousands of likes and shares on facebook, this video has gone viral.

Within the 2:35 seconds of the video, six girls and one boy, all in elementary school, attempt to bring awareness to the inequalities between men and women in our society. However, it is not done in the most tasteful way. The premises of the video is to show that the inequalities are more shocking and terrible than a few kids dropping the f-bomb every five seconds.

In theory, this video makes sense, but theory is the only place it does. Since the kids are so young, they do not understand the meaning or weight of the swear words and main ideas coming out of their mouths. An 8 year old does not understand the concept of the f-word just as much as he/she would not understand the concept of rape. Each of the children brought up heavy topics that none of them, doubtedly, understand fully. The kids looked like they were having fun playing the roles of sassy, smart women, but there is a slim chance they could actually comprehend what it is they were saying.

With that being said, this video is just another example of the radical aspect of feminism. Women believe they are helping, but instead cause more detriment. While watching this video, I was not focused on the message, but on how messed up the idea was. Having kids help fight a battle they do not understand is not right. So, yes, the video did get a lot of media attention on the movement, and it was mostly all bad, but in the end, some statistics are now out there. Yet, the video could have been delivered in a better, more sensible way to get the message out there.

In my opinion, the comments of the video are the best part of it.      

 

If these comments show anything, it is that people do not understand the idea of feminism. You have three guys ripping on women for their opinions and one feminist attacking men. Both sides of the battle mashed into one consecutive picture of comments. It is astounding how much people can just ignore the message of a movement and attack each other.

A Modern Day Civil War

A civil war is defined as a war between citizens of the same country. It is people against people, brother against brother, and, in this case, woman against woman. Today's modern day feminist movement is being sidetracked in the midst of a civil war, the two sides: pro-feminists vs. anti-feminists.

Women are being forced to choose a side once they come across the movement. Do you agree or disagree with the ideals of modern feminism? The question is simple, to agree or not to agree, but the answer becomes more complicated. The feminist movement in today's terms does not have a clear cut goal. In the early 1900s they fought for the right to vote, and even earlier than that, women fought for the right to own property, hold jobs, and have a sense of freedom. Women now have the same main legal rights men have, so the feminist fight becomes more blurry. From the outside looking in it appears that modern day feminism is fighting social stereotypes, rape and abuse, and cat calling. All of these are controversial and debate-rich topics, leading women to choose one side or the other.

Each side has brought in it's own social media campaign, named either "Who Needs Feminism?" (pro-feminists) or "Women Against Feminism" (anti-feminists). Both are centralized on Tumblr and consist of women (and some men) submitting pictures of them selves holding a sign that explains why they do or do not need feminism.

Below are some examples...

"Who Needs Feminism?"
 

"Women Against Feminism"

The "Women Against Feminism" movement has taken off recently. It has gained some of the attention that pro-feminism has. The women that post pictures under the blog mostly say they are egalitarian (equality of all people), endorse men issues, or just criticize the feminist ideals.

These disagreements have caused an uprising among the two sides. Feminists have been known to attack non-feminists and usually use the argument that the opposing side do not know the true definition of feminism. In the most radical cases, there have even been death threats. Not everyone will always agree with them, yet feminists seem to be more focused on getting every woman on their side instead of just fighting for what they want.

This fighting and uncommon views may be leading the movement down a path that is not going to be beneficial. Instead of looking like a cohesive group that is battling for the same rights, the public sees it as a mess of fighting, bickering women, and the movement is not usually taken seriously. In order to make a difference and the progress that is wanted, the two sides need to stop the battle and make common ground or at least call a peace treaty.