Y’all know I believe that humor is a great way to deliver a message that people don’t want to hear.

The folks at FCKH8 are selling T-shirts and raising money for causes like domestic violence.  Their first Potty-Mouth Princesses video was viewed by over 20 million people and raised over $30,000 for women’s charities.

I want to thank Kit Gruelle for alerting me on Facebook to a birthday gift I didn’t notice until today:  Potty-Mouthed Princesses Drop F-Bombs for Feminism.

Stop focusing on how I look and give me a book.

Alex Chancey crowned the video the week’s buzziest when it debuted last October:

These “potty-mouthed princesses” curse like proverbial sailors to prove a point. The discomfort in hearing such young children use profanity pales in comparison to the gender-based pay inequality, objectification and violence that affect girls and women every day. The video even features a boy dressed in a princess gown to further punctuate that “when you tell boys not to act like a girl, it’s because you think it’s bad to be a girl.”

Potty-Mouth Princesses Part 2:  Girls F-Bomb Domestic Violence was declared the ad of the day by Ad Week.  It went viral globally on my birthday with 50,000 views.  Writer/director/activist Luke Montgomery founded FCKH8.  He explained his passion for the project:

Sexism and violence against women are totally linked.  We pay women less.  That says that we value women less.  When we value women less, is it any surprise that men think they can bully and beat women in their own homes?

Sexism has come so normal that we don’t notice it.

If it takes a couple cute little girls dressed in princess outfits and tiaras ~ sweet little girls ~ saying the f-word talking about this issue to get adults and society as a whole to pay attention, then we’ve done our job.

We’re using a bad word for a cause to jolt society.

The video is very personal for Lacey O’Connell, who is a domestic violence survivor.  Her goal is to break the silence.  Her daughter is one of the Potty-Mouthed Princesses.  They are taking the gloves off on violence against women, wearing fake make-up, citing statistics, and filling the swear jar with cash.  I believe criticism of the video is rooted in a desire to shut survivors the hell up.

Where is the outrage to the abuse Lacey O’Connell experienced and her daughter likely witnessed?  What?  It’s okay for a daddy to beat the hell out of a mommy, but it isn’t okay for their daughter to ask why the “fuck” somebody doesn’t do something to stop it?

What’s more offensive?
A little girl saying “fuck” or
the fucked up and sexist way society
barely lifts a finger
when men raise their fists?

When I was the age of these little girls, the word “fuck” wasn’t popular.  We didn’t have videos that went viral.  I was a huge Annie Oakley fan and wore a holster with a pair of toy six-shooters.  My little girl mind fantasized that they would protect me from sexual molestation and child abuse and neglect.  I didn’t know the word “fuck,” but I sure as hell wondered why the fuck nobody protected me.

We want a future we can dream about
Not one we will fucking scream about!

The women’s movement was founded 166 years ago to end violence against women.  The issue didn’t gain global traction until Eve Ensler staged The Vagina Monologues.  She too has been criticized because some of her skits are shocking.  I’m fairly certain that when she was a little girl that she too wanted to ask why the fuck nobody protected her from her daddy’s sexual assaults.

Yo, grown ups, don’t you see
the sexist education boys are getting?
That’s the fucked-up example you are setting.

These little girls and Eve Ensler need to shock people because there is far too much apathy and callous indifference to domestic violence and child abuse.

I shouldn’t need a penis to get paid.

We’re not your bitches.
You can’t put us in stitches.

These little girls are breaking down the walls of silence in a shocking way because too many people don’t give a fuck that we aren’t safe at home.  At age six, I wondered why the fuck nobody protected me.  I’m still wondering why the fuck nobody protected me at age 66.

Why do we shame and bully survivors into silence?

So yeah, were making a big fucking fuss.
We don’t want a violent future for any of us.

If you’ve had a tough week like I’ve had, I hope you’ll take the time to click on the links in this post and watch the videos of these feisty, pint-sized feminists.  Laughter really is the best medicine.

Related post:

Sense of Humor: Get Yourself Some Madea Going On!, 2/24/09