Keep Your Fucks In Your Basket

Teaching girls to respect themselves and expect respect from others is something we have to begin at a very early age. This isn’t a feminist ideal per se, it’s just a human being ideal, however, even without realising it we do objectify girls from a young age. When we meet little girls there is a tendency to comment, innocently enough, on their appearance: “You’re very pretty”, “Your hair is lovely”, “What a cute outfit” and we rarely ask them things like “What’s your favourite subject at school” or “What do you want to be when you grow up?”. It’s just ingrained into us to ask girls and boys very different questions. But things are changing and girls are being taught that they are more than just how they look.

My friend, a mother of a 5 year old girl, showed me this amazing book she bought her daughter. A book for the progressive parent, it’s called The Girl Who Girl Who Gave Zero Fucks. It’s the story of a young girl, Elodie-Rose, who “one day decides to change the world and keep all her fucks in her basket”.

The “fucks” are her self-esteem; all her happy, sad and wonderful thoughts that sit in her basket. That sit in every girl’s basket and every girl must give these fucks away every time someone asks. One day Elodie-Rose decides to find out what happens if those fucks stay in her basket.

“Hello to you, hello from me!
We’ve just one life, not two or three…
have you ever wondered what would be
if you took your fucks and set them free?

Would your head explode? Nose disappear?
Would weeds start growing behind your ears?
I wonder what everybody would say
if you showed how brave you are, one day.

If you grew so tall, everybody saw
that you are destined for much, much more.
When your heart is heavy and your story sucks
be the little girl who gave zero fucks.”

The Little Girl Who Gave Zero Fucks is a full colour hardback book of 60 pages, written by Amy Kean and illustrated in the style of a ‘dystopian Millie Molly Mandy’ by J Milton (illustrator). The book has already become a best seller on Amazon.

The book isn’t just a lesson for little girls though, this book really is a reminder for all women to keep our fucks safely tucked inside our baskets.