Women's March on Washington (and What Caused it to Happen)

So, it's a few weeks after Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States. We've already seen peaceful protests in response to his former sexist statements toward women and more recently in response to his most publicized act as president so far, signing an executive order to prevent citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries for entering the country for the next 90 days.

Clearly, Trump has been making waves. Whether or not you support him, there are a couple unshakeable realities that surround America's newest Commander-in-Chief (and former host of The Celebrity Apprentice)

1. Donald Trump has not been a politician for the majority of his life, so for him, censoring his statements in fear of gaining public support has never been his priority.

2. He has made numerous sexist statements in the past.

3. He had expressed a potential for punishment for abortion (but recanted. I have to give Trump the benefit of the doubt on this one - I think he misspoke/didn't realize how his words would be interpreted. Maybe I'm being too lenient?)

4. He wants to restore American values. Freedom is one of our defining values. So, I think he'll have to protect women's freedoms in order to live up to his ultimate goal to "MAGA"


There was a widespread fear leading up to and following Trump's election about the appointment of a Supreme Court Justice to fill the seat of the late Justice Scalia. Scalia was a staunch conservative on the bench, and many women had hope that if Hillary Clinton were elected, she would appoint a more liberal Justice to the bench. However, with Trump's conservative views, women feared that many bills that protected women's reproductive rights could be repealed if his appointment were extremely conservative. However, the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch was a pleasant surprise, as he has continually proven to be loyal to only the constitution and will not be extreme in any dangerous direction.

I think a clear place to start this blog would be to discuss the Women's March on Washington. This historic event took place on January 21, the day after Trump's inauguration.  Although its goal was not directly to protest Donald Trump's inauguration, the timing of the event was meant to draw attention to a pressing cause, which is the protection of all women in this transitional time for the United States government.

So, the 2.6 million women marched and... what? Trump said something nice about it?

Wait, my mistake. I forgot that he said this right before.

(This is a time I want to facepalm myself. Clearly these women did vote, and he made the issue about himself, instead of recognizing that it was a rally to show female solidarity and bring forth a collective strength and pride in addition to protesting his new administration.)

The Women's March was a remarkable display of solidarity that brought together women of all races, socioeconomic backgrounds, religions, and sexual identities/orientations to show strength. The protest was entirely peaceful, as was its mission, and it had offshoots in hundreds of cities across the globe.

Photo courtesy of https://www.flickr.com/photos/mobili/32103990670/

I really believe that this march is one indicator of the changing face of feminism. Third wave feminism originated with the intersectionality following Kimberlé Crenshaw's paper discussing the intersection of race, gender, and other uncontrollable factors. However, the election of Donald Trump as our president has ushered in almost a new era, in which women are bonding together to protect their rights and to lend their privilege to those with lesser. Even men got in on the action at Washington, and I truly think that this march was successful in demonstrating a collective "We Are!" all people, not objects, to which President Trump has occasionally alluded.

People that disagree with the mission of the March on Washington often have the misconception that feminists hate women, to which I always think to respond with a discussion of equality vs. equity. Equality is the goal, but equity must be considered to reach the ultimate goal. See cartoon below.

Image courtesy of the Interaction Institute for Social Change

We want everyone to see over the fence, so we have to give women, and especially women that are at the mercy of intersectionality, extra help and support so that we can all be on a level playing field.

So, I think that 2016 is the beginning of a new feminism. It is non-discriminatory but it takes no B.S. Although many women who identify as feminists voted for Donald Trump for his policies or out of disdain for his opponent, this does not mean that they agreed with all of his policies. He has made comments about defunding Planned Parenthood, banning abortion post-20 weeks, and more. Personally, I am an advocate of pro-choice because I believe every woman has the right to choose what is best for her and her baby, but my personal beliefs regarding that topic should not affect my logical decisions. 

So, the issue now is how Trump will approach women's issues going forward. He faced a clear backlash for being inaugurated considering his past, but there remains a lot to be discovered about his administration. He has not been completely forthcoming about all of his policies regarding women's health, but if the repeal of Obamacare is any indication, there is a big change to be expected in the way that healthcare is administered in the United States. Until then, all we can do is wait.

And, of course, support women. Feminism IS cool, because feminism is equality.