The Women’s March and Beyond

I marched with a busload of women, men and a 6 year old from Kansas. It was one of the most meaningful things I have ever done. We left Thursday night, arrived Friday night to our host families (after the bus breaking down on the road 90 minutes from our destination), got 4 hours of sleep, then marched, hopped on the bus and got back Sunday night. We are all energized to continue the fight. I wrote letters to my two senators today.

I absolutely love all of these signs – I just wish that I had been to the one in Paris, it looked incredible.

http://www.diaryofanexpatgirl.com

Thank you, thank you, thank you again for stories like these! I’m having a postcard-writing party with some friends this weekend, and participating in a charity event with my children at a local hospital. I don’t think I’ve made as many phone calls to government leaders or written as many emails or signed as many petitions or donated to as many important causes in my entire LIFE as I have in these last few months. I’m doing so for my children, for the millions of women who marched, and for the billions more who were with us in spirit this past weekend. The collective energy of this movement has already pulled me out of some pretty dark moments, because it’s clear to me now, more than ever before, that we’re in this together. No one is alone, because we have one another to lean on. I wish we didn’t need to reach rock bottom in order to get here, but I’m very grateful to be a part of this new era where we are collectively lifting one another up. That’s far more powerful than any one man could hope to achieve.

Democracy Now is a wonderful news source! I can always trust them to be reporting on what is really going on, in this country and globally, and giving me information on what matters. It is woman-run and founded (go Amy Goodman!), and the journalists are predominantly folks of color. You can access them at democracynow.org

I marched with 50,000 men & women in Philadelphia, the city of sister and brotherly love. ❤️ It was incredible. And I don’t want it To stop there.

http://hyggewellness.com/blog

I also drove from NYC to DC this weekend and had similar experiences to Megan. Two things I don’t ever want to forget:

– The Wendy’s was out of salads at the rest stop off the highway. How funny is that? I can’t imagine that happens too often.
– On the drive back came upon a fairly fresh car accident between two cars of ladies coming back from the march. I assume they were strangers before the accident. By the time we passed them, women from the two groups were hugging one another.

<3 I think the weekend energized us all – we'll need it for this long, uphill battle we face.

Thank you for this post and all the comments! Marched in Seattle. Unforgettable.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for continuing to discuss, ponder, question the recent election, inauguration, and Women’s March. I greatly appreciate you discussing these important topics that are often ignored in other blogs I read. Please continue them and please don’t hesitate to dive deeper. Thank you for including more diverse stories on your blog from women globally. It isn’t going unnoticed.

I marched in Birmingham, Alabama. We started in the historic Kelly Ingram Park, which in the early 1960s became the epicenter of the nation’s Civil Rights Movement. It is also just outside the doors of the 13th Street Baptist Church. It was an incredible day. Let’s keep the momentum going!!

Love that you all went! It was incredibly empowering to have so many people marching (many for the first time, including myself!). It made me so happy to see it was a march that included almost 50% men as well (at least in Seattle!). The buses were so full that my friends and I ended up walking all the way across the city just to make it to the march on time (buses being full was amazing to see!) It was still unfortunate that most of our march was silent, some groups tried to start chants but it never really stuck. But every now and then a wave of cheers would erupt in a wave, and everyone joined in. The emotion was incredible <3 It felt good to be a part of something, and I hope that everyone who marched Saturday continues to show up peacefully for many more marches that support different types of issues. <3

I just read in The Independent that the “Preserve the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities” petition on the White House website is not registering signatures. Given that the climate change page and civil rights pages were removed from the site on Inauguration Day, I don’t believe this is a mistake or a glitch. It underscores the importance of reaching out to Senators and Congressmen directly through phone calls and letters.

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/president-donald-trump-arts-funding-nea-neh-cpb-prs-npr-petition-white-house-a7541631.html?utm_source=Publishers+Weekly&utm_campaign=05ac3f2914-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_01_24&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_0bb2959cbb-05ac3f2914-305071969

In response to the #notmymarch

“Say thank you. Say thank you to the women who gave you a voice. Say thank you to the women who were arrested and imprisoned and beaten and gassed for you to have a voice. Say thank you to the women who refused to back down, to the women who fought tirelessly to give you a voice. Say thank you to the women who put their lives on hold, who –lucky for you — did not have “better things to do” than to march and protest and rally for your voice. So you don’t feel like a “second class citizen.” So you get to feel “equal.”

Thank Susan B. Anthony and Alice Paul for your right to vote.

Thank Elizabeth Stanton for your right to work.

Thank Maud Wood Park for your prenatal care and your identity outside of your husband.

Thank Rose Schneiderman for your humane working conditions.

Thank Eleanor Roosevelt and Molly Dewson for your ability to work in politics and affect policy.

Thank Margaret Sanger for your legal birth control.

Thank Carol Downer for your reproductive healthcare rights.
Thank Sarah Muller for your equal education.

Thank Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Shannon Turner, Gloria Steinem, Zelda Kingoff Nordlinger, Rosa Parks, Angela Davis, Malika Saada Saar, Wagatwe Wanjuki, Ida B. Wells, Malala Yousafzai. Thank your mother, your grandmother, your great-grandmother who did not have half of the rights you have now.

You can make your own choices, speak and be heard, vote, work, control your body, defend yourself, defend your family, because of the women who marched. You did nothing to earn those rights. You were born into those rights. You did nothing, but you reap the benefits of women, strong women, women who fought misogyny and pushed through patriarchy and fought for you. And you sit on your pedestal, a pedestal you are fortunate enough to have, and type. A keyboard warrior. A fighter for complacency. An acceptor of what you were given. A denier of facts. Wrapped up in your delusion of equality.

You are not equal. Even if you feel like you are. You still make less than a man for doing the same work. You make less as a CEO, as an athlete, as an actress, as a doctor. You make less in government, in the tech industry, in healthcare.

You still don’t have full rights over your own body. Men are still debating over your uterus. Over your prenatal care. Over your choices.

You are still objectified. You are still catcalled. You are still sexualized. You are still told you’re too skinny or you’re too fat. You’re still told you’re too old or too young. You’re applauded when you “age gracefully.” You’re still told men age “better.” You’re still told to dress like a lady. You are still judged on your outfit instead of what’s in your head. What brand bag you have still matters more than your college degree.

You are still worse off if you are a woman of color, a gay woman, a transgender woman. You are still harassed, belittled, dehumanized.

You are not equal. Your daughters are not equal. You are still systemically oppressed.

Estonia allows parents to take up to three years of leave, fully paid for the first 435 days. United States has no policy requiring maternity leave.
Singapore’s women feel safe walking alone at night. American women do not.
New Zealand’s women have the smallest gender gap in wages, at 5.6%. United States’ pay gap is 20%.
Iceland has the highest number of women CEOs, at 44%. United States is at 4.0%.
The United States ranks at 45 for women’s equality. Behind Rwanda, Cuba, Philippines, Jamaica.

But I get it. You don’t want to admit it. You don’t want to be a victim. You think feminism is a dirty word. You think it’s not classy to fight for equality. You hate the word pussy. Unless of course you use it to call a man who isn’t up to your standard of manhood. You know the type of man that “allows” “his” woman to do whatever she damn well pleases. I get it. You believe feminists are emotional, irrational, unreasonable. Why aren’t women just satisfied with their lives, right? You get what you get and you don’t get upset, right?

But don’t worry. We will walk for you. We will fight for you. We will stand up for you. And one day you will actually be equal, instead of just feeling like you are.”
~ Dina Leygerman, 2017

I marched in NYC as well! It was such an overwhelming experience and I am so proud to be a Woman today. It wasn’t a moment, it’s a movement!! Excited to continue to speak and act on behalf of those who can’t or won’t. Even though I identify as very liberal, this is a HUMAN movement. Regardless of political party, age, gender, race…with Liberty and Justice FOR ALL <3

We marched in Nairobi, Kenya. I wasn’t sure I was going to go until the day before because I was afraid it might be dangerous. I was so wrong! It was the most loving, peaceful march I have ever witnessed. Nairobi stands strong and huge supporter of our movement!

I marched in Seattle. It was truly an unforgettable experience. My favorite moment was actually seeing two men on the sidelines (one man in his mid 30s and the other looked to be his father) with signs that read, ‘I’m with her’ with arrows pointing down between them…where a little girl, no older than 5 was watching. She held a sign that I honestly couldn’t even read because when I saw her I just started weeping.

I didn’t march and it broke my heart. I live just far enough from D.C. that it’s a big effort to get there (I know, thousands made that effort and more) but close enough that there was no local march. I’ve talked to other women in town who feel the same — we missed out on something big! I recently moved from Boston, and it was heartwarming and heartbreaking to see so many people come out in a town that still feels like mine.

On a day of empowerment, I felt strangely immobilized. I am trying to figure out my own quiet resistance.

But, for what it’s worth, I know that the millions of women who marched are only a small sampling of those who wanted to, and who are unwilling to be content with the world in its current state.

We were the ‘United sisters of America’
(Muslim Mamas who marched in the women’s March on Boston MA! )

I wrote a post about it if anyone would like to have a read http://mamanushka.com/womens-march-7-tips-for-marching-with-children/

Thank you for this post! I marched along with about 8,000 others in Spokane, WA. Great energy in the air and such a loving, supportive environment. Wonderful to support and witness support for women, LGBTI folks, immigrants, people of color, indigenous people, people with disabilities and special needs, and every other minority in America and around the globe. Stay nasty!

I marched in Seattle, my sister marched in D.C. and my mother marched in Ft Worth. :)

We were sick, it was pouring, we stood for hours, our signs disintegrated and we were chilled to the bone.

It was one of the most wonderful, empowering, hopeful, uniting moments in my life. I will remember it forever and I’m so lucky to have experienced it with my baby boy and my loving husband.

– Portland, where we marched in peace

I marched in Chicago and it was an incredible experience. Our first clue about the day was the packed El trains — so full to bursting we couldn’t get on! After 4 packed trains, we had to find another way downtown. The energy there was so strong and so positive; the feeling of solidarity was so reassuring. It was a very emotional experience. The crowd was so much bigger than expected that the march portion was cancelled — but it didn’t matter, we marched anyway, flooding the streets, shutting intersections down. It was my first such experience — but not my last! Resist!