Women’s March

Women’s March

January 29th, 2017

As a nation, we pride ourselves on being a guiding force for the expansion of democracy in the world, but nearly half of the countries on the planet have elected a female head of state before we even put one on the ballot.  Though a theoretically outdated ideology, much of the United States still has a hard time shaking their reservations as to whether a woman possesses the inherent qualities needed to hold such a position.

Four years before the 100th anniversary of women winning the fight for their right to vote, for the first time in the nation’s history the November election would have a women candidate on the ballot, on a major party ticket, running for President of the United States.  For various reasons, many argued the Democratic nominee, Senator Hillary Rodham-Clinton, was a flawed candidate, despite simultaneously being one of the most qualified candidates to run in modern history.  In extreme contrast, the Republican nominee, Donald Trump, was, with little argument, very possibly the least qualified candidate of a major party in our nation’s history. 

Following months of media fury, intense rhetoric and innumerable scandals, the general expectation was that the country would not follow Trump down the path he was attempting to lead us.  The results of the 2016 presidential election would come as a devastating shock to many in our nation.  This was only intensified after learning that Clinton in fact received millions of votes more than her opponent, but could not pull off winning the electoral college.  Anger and despair were acutely felt by many women in the country, with the outcome of the election seeming to assert that the people of the United States would prefer a crude, uniformed, bigoted, silver-spooned, authoritarian-inspired, multi-bankruptcy-declaring reality TV host in the office of the presidency, over a competent woman.  Many women across the country were able to relate to the sexism and double-standards they saw play out nationally.  In a country where women still commonly suffer workplace discrimination, pay inequity and the shameful continued prevalence of sexual violence, this was something personally experienced by all too many. Though a crushing blow, the energy that came out of this outrage quickly turned into widespread organizing and activism by women across the country.    

On January 21, 2017, the first full day of Trump’s presidency, the now renowned Women’s March on Washington and its sister marches across the country became the largest single-day protest in the history of the United States.  Millions of women from around the world and their allies joined in solidarity through peaceful marches to denounce the hateful rhetoric of President Trump and to declare that “women’s rights are human rights.”  They marched to stand up for the causes of worker, reproductive, immigrant, LGBTQ and disability rights, gender and racial equality, healthcare reform and the protection of the environment.  

The widespread use of humor, displayed in the creative signage and iconic pink hats, in the face of such serious social and political issues and a new President who completely lacked humility, created an inviting movement. Many who had previously never participated in political marches found comfort in joining the massive assemblage of fellow women boldly expressing their beliefs.  In New Orleans, the passion of the protest was also accompanied with a sense of celebration, as those of New Orleans are apt to do.  But the mix of emotions in many ways hit the nail on the head: it was the first day of what would knowingly be a difficult four years ahead, but the unity and strength shown in the events of the day were also a cause for jubilation.  The march was a message to the Trump administration on day-one by millions of women in our nation: his actions will not go without resistance.

Jessica Valenti, "The Women's March reminded us: we are not alone, " The Guardian, 1/21/17, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jan/21/womens-march-worldwide-voters-not-alone

                Ralph Elllis, "Protestors across globe rally for women's rights," CNN, 1/21/17, https://www.cnn.com/2017/01/21/politics/womens-march-wrap/index.html