There’s been a lot of different opinions on the latest FckH8’s video of little girls dropping the F-bomb in support of feminism. A lot of people are for it and a lot of people are against it. Personally, I wasn’t a fan of the video just because I myself try not to curse that much and it was jarring to me to see all these little girls do so. However, I will be the first to admit the video made it’s point and is definitely getting the attention it was hoping for.
What bugged more than this video, however, was Matt Walsh, a well known conservative blogger’s, response to it. In his latest article for The Blaze entitled “Feminism Has Nothing to Say But It Still Won’t Shut Up” Walsh discusses why he thinks the video is a perfect representation of feminism because it reemphasizes the fact that feminism no longer has a point and is inherently useless.
First, he refers to the use of these children in this video as “child abuse” and refers to it as “ideological child prostitution”. Yes, this video might be a bit much but to compare it to child prostitution is ridiculous and absurd. First, of all I’m pretty sure all the kids in this video are child actors. I’ve definitely seen one or two of them in commercials. They were saying their lines just like they would for a TV show or commercial. Of course it’s propaganda but it’s not like their parents forced them to perform (hopefully). I can’t say for certain but I’m pretty sure these little girls got paid to perform in this ad.
Moving on, besides his criticisms of the video Walsh then goes on to explain why feminism is poison. Now this is where I needed to pause and take a breath because I was so livid.
According to Walsh feminism has “nothing to add to the discussion. It’s a movement without a direction. A cause without a cause. A campaign that never stops because it has no goal and no objective.”To say that feminism has no cause or direction is absolutely ridiculous. Feminism is all about equality and making sure women have the same rights as men. That’s the cause. Period.
But wait a minute. Walsh has something to say about that as well. According to Walsh men and women are not equal. He sates, “They are separate, distinct, and complimentary. Equal in dignity and worth, but unequal in every other way.” Oh Walsh, we’re not stupid. We know that men and women are literally not equal. We are two opposite sexes of course we’re not the exact same but excuse me if I feel that in the workplace and in society I shouldn’t be treated as a lesser human being because I’m not a man. He then goes on to write, “I have never in my life seen a feminist promote the idea that a woman’s uniquely feminine qualities ought to be used to serve and honor men, just as a man’s masculine qualities ought to serve and honor women.”
I’m a Christian as well as Walsh and I totally understand this Biblical idea but not in the context he’s using it. His focus on female’s qualities versus those of male’s qualities makes me feel as if he’s saying women should serve their husband the way women are meant to and men should serve their wives the way men are supposed to. I would like to ask what does that mean Walsh? Is the only way women can serve their husband by being super feminine and the only way men can serve their wives is by being super masculine? That’s absurd and I firmly have to disagree.
But more than anything what really bothered me was his comments about rape. Walsh states that the statistics of rape are all wrong and it’s completely impossible that it’s actually one in five women that get raped. First of all, yes there are differing opinions on how many people (men and women included) get raped but what Walsh neglects to realize is a) these statistics don’t just include rape but any form of sexual assault and b) there are plenty of rapes and sexual assaults that go unreported because people are afraid or just don’t want to come forward.
Walsh then goes on to claim that ALL feminists believe ALL men are rapists. Yep. He thinks feminists really believe every man is a rapist. How else could there possibly be that many sexual assaults? It’s not at all possible that a sexual predator could attack more than one person and that’s why there’s so many. It’s not at all possible that the justice system is so messed up that many rapists and sexual predators actually get off and then become repeat offenders. No of course not. The only way any of these statistics could be true is if all men are rapists and that’s obviously what every feminist believes.
He then blames feminists for driving a wedge between the sexes. Mind you I’ve never seen a rule that said feminists are just women. I know multiple men who also proudly call themselves feminists so I’m little confused on how feminism could be driving a wedge between men and women when it’s men and women who are coming together to fight these issues. Just look at the He For She campaign.
Walsh then ends his article by pointing out how men also suffer and deal with violence and their own issues. Of course men have their own issues Walsh. Everyone has issues. That’s not feminists point. The point of a feminism is that many of the issues that affect women such as sexual harassment, violence, pay inequality, etc don’t get talked about enough. What he also neglects to realize is a lot of the work feminists hope to accomplish don’t only have to do with the U.S. but is also centered on the many places globally that still lack basic human rights for women but that no one really hears about. Yes women have achieved a lot here in the U.S. but there’s still so much work to be done for women globally and if you, Mr. Walsh, can’t see that than that’s a shame.
Zakiya N. Jamal 