Gender and Elections

On January 21, 2017, the day after the inauguration of Donald J. Trump, the world witnessed the largest single-day protest in US history. The 2017 Women’s March spread not only across the United States but also worldwide. From major metropolitan areas to small rural towns, the streets filled, accented by pink knitted hats. In Washington, DC, the day started with a rally headlined by Angela Davis, Gloria Steinem, Janet Mock, and other prominent activists from an array of social justice movements (e.g. feminist, racial justice, LGBTQ, immigration, environmental, and labor). A panoply of signs reflected the varied motivations of marchers. Some expressing gendered outrage at Trump directly, twisting his own rhetoric and misdeeds to articulate resistance: “Our rights are not up for grabs,” “This pussy grabs back,” and “Nasty Women make (her)story.” Others addressed the many issues thought to be threatened by a candidate whose campaign was fraught with racist rhetoric about Muslims and Mexicans and an administration poised to undo decades of progressive policy. The protest was peaceful, even as the numbers swelled beyond what the march organizers or the city planners could ever have imagined.