By Annie Lane
(The following video is censored, but still may be considered not safe for work.)
Feminism comes in many shapes and sizes, though if you ask author Karin Agness of the Time Magazine article Seriously? This Is What Passes for Feminism in America it appears that it should only ever manifest itself in the form of an 11-year-old girl who was shot in the head, as was the case for Malala Yousafzai.
Thankfully, Yousafzai survived the senseless and depraved attack on her life by the Taliban in 2012, and has gone on to be the voice for women’s rights in Pakistan. And the world is better because of her.
But according to Agness, American girls, such as the ones who appeared in the controversial FCKH8 video that went viral last week, don’t even graze the surface of what it means to be a Feminist. Instead, they are merely some part of a cheap marketing ploy to sell t-shirts:
The latest antic? Apparel company FCKH8 posted a video of young girls dressed as princesses using the F-word and gesturing with their middle fingers to try to bring attention to sexism. It’s uncomfortable to watch—not in the sense that it causes viewers to rethink long-held beliefs, but because it’s a cheap ploy. Toward the end, two adults appear hawking “This is what a feminist looks like” and “Girls just want to have fun-damental rights” t-shirts. The video ends with a young girl saying, “Swear jar? I don’t give a f**k.” This isn’t courageous or graceful.
Interesting. Because I would think that attacking and diminishing any message about the suffering of women is the very definition of cowardly and graceless. But she goes on:
The battles that women and girls like Malala are fighting each and every day make the so-called “war on women” in America appear laughable.
What? So because women in the United States have it better than those in Pakistan we should all clink our sewing needles together in celebration? Not every woman needs to be shot in the head to overcome abuses and thrive. They are not competing with Yousafzai; rather they are rallying as her sisters to fight against the injustices they face on their own turf. Needless to say, I’m disappointed that Time Magazine would print such drivel. But Agness’ shortsighted response speaks to a much more visceral issue: women in the United States simply can’t unite.
Someone once told me, “You know, if you women ever came together and agreed on anything, we men would all be f**ked.”
I’ve often thought the same. From the Ann Romneys to the Sarah Palins of the world, there are women who have either sat idly by the side of their anti-women husbands or have actively engaged in anti-women policies themselves. They are our downfall.
I got several responses from family and friends regarding the video. Most enjoyed it, but a few thought it was preaching to the choir. Another was put off by the inappropriate language.
“I wouldn’t want my 9-year-old daughter to talk like that.”
Here’s the thing: Why is it that a few f-bombs bother us more than the actual issues facing women today? Income inequality. Gender inequality. Rape. Abuse. These facts of life for some women should be raising our ire more than some foul language. In fact, they should be considered the foul language.
So getting back to the video. Despite all the f-bombs, this isn’t about offensive language in the slightest. It’s about the far more atrocious affront to women, and the desire of many to create change. Feminism can come in packages that are classy or crass, profound or plain. The delivery is unimportant as long as the messages keep coming.
Annie Lane
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1 in 4 american women will be raped in her lifetime, another 1 in 4 will fend off rape attempts. Sounds like war to me. There may be different fronts in the war on women around the world, but I think we need to be clear: men are waging a war on women in the United States and shit’s gotta stop.
I was recently talking to my 22-year old daughter and asked her if she and her friends went out to the bars and partied very much. “No,” she said, “I don’t like feeling ‘hunted.'” I was stunned by that statement. As a 68-year-old father that, in his “wild and crazy” youth, had worked and partied in his share of “meat rack” bars (and led the league in “strike-outs”) I saw things in a very different and uncomfortable light.
I totally sympathize with your daughter, and respect you for your ability to see things differently. I have been on the ‘hunted’ side, and it’s a truly awkward position to be in. If you smile in the hopes that you can acknowledge it and move on, you invite more of the behavior; if you don’t, you’re a stuck up beezy.
The funny/sad thing is that I’ve been told to be grateful for the catcalls and come-ons … who knows when they will stop, right? It’s just impossible to be grateful for something when I know I, personally, have very little to do with it. Rather, it’s our lady parts in general that’s the attraction, and most times it feels like they could be attached to absolutely anyone and get the same attention.
“So getting back to the video. Despite all the f-bombs, this isn’t about offensive language in the slightest. It’s about the far more atrocious affront to women, and the desire of many to create change.”
Yes, Ms. Lane, that IS the message of the video.
And my response to it is RIGHT ON!! A great message also being used to sell T-shirts for a cause — sounds like win-win to me.
I find it wonderful that three men have commented so positively in response to this article. Hurrah to the San Diego Free Press community!
I’m all for education and awareness about feminist issues, which is simply about human rights and equality. However, it’s not only women in Muslim countries who are being shot, attacked and murdered. We have our share of violence directed at women simply because they are women right here in the United States as well.
And So long as women are harassed, assaulted and systematically attacked and killed to silence their voices, in any country, I believe it is the obligation of teachers, law enforcement and others who work in the criminal justice and public safety systems to train Women and girls how to defend themselves. Unfortunately, that appears to be a revolutionary act.
Remember when two young women were killed in nort county four years ago, one after jogging near Miramar lake? There was a third woman who was attacked by the same assailant, but she had been trained in self-defense. She not only survived, she broke her attacker’s nose. She lived in Colorado but returned to San Diego to testify against him in court.
In response to this women’s survival I worked with other women legislators in 2010 to introduce a bill to provide self-defense training as part of our public school curriculum. But That Bill was opposed, while one to increase punishment for similar offenses was signed with great fanfare by the governor.
Sadly, we are all too eager to increase penalties to punish perpetrators of crimes against women after-the-fact. It would make much more sense to work to prevent these crimes, and prepare women in how to respond when threatened with domestic violence, sexual assault and worse.
To that end: I completed a self-defense course over the last two weekends, at city College. It is offered by the San Diego community college District Police Department free of charge to students, faculty and staff.
Some of the women in the class were survivors of domestic violence and other abuse.
I learned that most women are assaulted by men they know, including spouses, boyfriends and family members. But “stranger rape” is the story that is the most horrifying and the most highly publicized.
The San Diego community college District is the only local campus that still offers these free self-defense courses. They used to be offered at other colleges send universities but no longer. I don’t know why this is now the case.
We started with 15 women but half did not return for the second day of class so eight of us completed the course. We are eligible to continue and refresh our training through other programs around the country that offer the same course. This was a beginning level class, and there are also advanced level classes.
For any woman who considers herself a feminist and believes in equality for herself, her sisters, her daughters etc. I encourage you to be prepared for the reality of life as a woman in the United States: learn how to defend yourself, and be more are aware of How to respond to threats to other women, not only with your words but with your actions.