September 2, 2015
Nearly Naked Feminists' Viral Video Protests Fashion's 'Photoshop Fakeness'
READ TIME: 3 MIN.
Creators of the anti-sexism viral hit "Potty-Mouth Princesses" have teamed up with women of different ages, shapes, sizes and colors who strip down to highlight fashion's body-shaming beauty standards.
Following the massive viral success of the anti-sexism "Potty-Mouth Princesses" video that garnered over 35 million views across platforms and generated global headlines with "Entertainment Tonight" calling it "the hottest topic on the planet," FCKH8.com has teamed up with a diverse cast of women of different ages, shapes, sizes and colors to attack what they call Photoshop fashion industry "fakeness." The video contains a shocking twist that goes beyond the territory covered in the popular Dove commercials.
Flouting the unspoken fashion rule that only unhealthily stick-thin women's bodies are beautiful, the viral spot features plus-size women boldly stripping off their "This is What a #Feminist Look Like" T-shirts to reveal them proudly standing in their bras and underwear -- to proudly stand up to unrealistic, unhealthy and sexist beauty standards imposed on women.
The nearly naked plus-sized models state, "Real women can have curves." They are joined by a diverse cast, including an older senior woman who strikes an empowering stance bearing her wrinkled midriff in her bra and panties who adds, "Real women can have wrinkles." Another woman adds her voice to the chorus calling for change when she says, "Real women can be flat-chested."
The empowering spot features a perhaps shocking twist in tone from its "Dove commercial-esque" style when the women chime in unison, "Real women can be whatever the f*ck they are." Letting out real anger at what they see as a major cause for eating disorders, body shaming and sexist standards of "perfection" that few women can meet, the women raise their middle fingers in a "f*ck you" gesture flipping off fashion industry "fakeness" and exclaim, "Photoshop this."
Video writer/director Luke Montgomery comments, "As a man, I'm deeply bothered by the sexist, unrealistic and absurd beauty standards women are forced to feel that they need to starve, diet, exercise and even have surgery to meet. Women are not objects and the women in this video object to being treated that way. The Dove commercials that take on beauty standards were nice, but this cast of women wanted to show the important part that those videos totally left out -- the righteous anger and frustration with the damage this constant assault of fake-ass Photoshopped images creates for girls and women."
The video features women taking off the activist T-shirt company's popular line of "The is What a #Feminist Looks Like" T-shirts to stand almost naked in a statement that the social change brand speaks louder that even its shirts' empowering message. The various tees shown in the video are available on the FCKH8.com website for viewers who want to wear the cause on their chest.
FCKH8.com is a T-shirt company with an activist heart and a passionate social change mission: arming thousands of people with pro-LGBT equality, anti-racism and anti-sexism T-shirts that act as "mini-billboards" for change. Started in 2010 with comedic viral videos that captured millions of views on YouTube, FCKH8.com has shipped over 200,000 equality tees, tanks and hoodies to supporters in over 100 countries. FCKH8.com's T-shirts have been publicly talked about by celebrities including Jane Lynch, Adam Lambert, Perez Hilton, and Zac Efron who's raved about his own "Some Dudes Marry Dudes, Get Over It" shirt in the press. With over 380,000 followers on Facebook and 44,000 on Twitter, FCKH8.com has given over $280,000 to the equality cause through directly funded projects and donations to anti-racism, anti-sexism and LGBT equality causes.