I would not consider myself to be an incredibly politically-invested person. In fact, the only reason I even know what's going on half the time is because of my obsession with Stephen Colbert and Seth Meyers.Their recaps of the day after some dramatic government decision are the only reason I kind of know what is going on. I would be completely oblivious to many issues otherwise. However, 2016 was different for me. I'm sure it was for many other people who suddenly found themselves sucked into a vortex of social media scandals and family arguments. They were always about which candidate really had the guts to fill in the presidential position. Well, as it turns out, it doesn't take a lot to have guts to simply throw your name into the candidate applicant pool.
It's no secret that I didn't vote for Donald Trump on November 8th, and I don't intend to pretend like I regret my initial decision. As a smaller woman, he terrified me. He encouraged men to physically lust after unsuspecting women. As someone majoring in Spanish, his foreign policies of wanting to, "build a wall," along Mexico's border shocked me. As someone who uses birth control, he infuriated me. Claiming that women's bodies are not their own and that the government should actually have the audacity to claim ownership over half of the United States population also infuriated me. As someone who is white, cisgender, able-bodied, and Christian, but has friends who do not identify as any of these and understands the importance of universal acceptance for all people, he literally makes me sick to my stomach. The day after the election results were announced, I carried my plushie of Pope Francis around my campus; I was desperate to offer comfort to others who were also grieving.
During the last few weeks of Obama's presidency, my mom and I made the decision to travel to Washington D.C. to participate in the Women's March. We were a bit nervous. I had personally attended the Philadelphia "Slut Walk" in 2015, but neither my mom or I had ever partaken in such a gigantic movement before. Sure, I had shown my support online, and I had even gone to a peaceful Black Lives Matter protest that my school had hosted, but nothing compared to the crowds that were expected to flood the streets of the capital city on January 21st.
Ultimately, it ended up being too crowded for us to "march" in a literal sense. So many people from all different walks of life had ventured to D.C. to show their support. There were friendly chants of acceptance, my favorite being, "My body my choice!" To which several male marchers responded with, "Her body her choice!" The sheer outpouring of love and tolerance was almost overwhelming. Yes, the official title was "The Women's March on Washington", but it was about so much more than just promoting women. During the march, I saw signs that advocated for all issues; environmental protection and climate change, acceptance and equality for the LGBTQIA+ community, Black Lives Matter, women's reproductive freedoms, and rights and protection for undocumented immigrants in the United States. A lovely woman was even passing out pink homemade "pussy hats" in exchange for donations to Planned Parenthood. To clarify, "pussy hats" are a play on words from the president's infamous line in which he described grabbing women by their genitals. They are sewn and knitted to look like cat ears and are not intended to exclude those who do not have vaginas themselves (I actually witnessed a ton of cisgender men wearing their own pussy hats in support). It's a simple protest against the mindset of women being seen as objects for sexual pleasure rather than human beings. The march was not so much "anti-Trump," but rather "pro-equality".
I felt the need to clarify what this march was really about after reading many articles this past week about women having to explain, "why I don't need the Women's March". I think many skeptics have been quick to judge the march simply because of its name. Yes, it was called "The Women's March", but that was not intended to exclude men or anyone who does not identify as a woman. It is about supporting each other and our country to see it thrive in these next four years under Trump. The United States was founded upon generations and generations of immigrants and native peoples that sought to make a better a society where we embraced each other because of our differences. We are not supposed to stand divided against each other. We've got a long way to go, but I believe that the Women's March was the first step towards a more united nation for us all. It is time we stopped pushing against change for the better and started embracing it.
(And if by chance you're reading this, Mr. President, then I hope you hear this message with love and hope.)
