What does the Women’s March even do?
The day after Donald Trump won the election in 2016, students from my high school had already created a Facebook event to inform their peers about a walk-out that would be taking place during our lunch period the following school day. I remember the moment I found out that Trump had won; I experienced several of the stages of grief at once. I was so struck with disbelief and fear, and I felt that the whole country had turned against me. As a woman of color, I felt that the outcome of the election isolated my identity as a marginalized person. I was alone.
When I saw the Facebook event, my spirit was immediately uplifted. I saw posts from my classmates cheering people on and spreading positivity. The comfort I gained from witnessing others around me that felt the same way I did was enough to give me the strength to stop wallowing. Of course there were the haters that posted in the event saying, “Do you really think walking out during lunch will change the results of the election…” and “This is pointless”. And the truth was that a lot of people agreed with this. Yes, a high-school walkout could not change the election, but that wasn’t even the purpose of it to begin with. The walkout symbolized a safe-space, a time of unity for those that felt scared or worried or angry about our future president. It meant that we were not alone, and that, though the country had shown us that we certainly were not the country we had thought we were, there was still many of us fighting back.
So when it came time for the 2017 Women’s March on January 21st, I knew exactly what types of criticism the march would face. People on social media, in the news, and even my peers were all shaking their heads and stating, “Do they really think a march will actually change anything…”. And yes, maybe marching to DC in pussy hats and empowering protest signs and high spirits won’t compel Congress to immediately sit down and change legislation, but that doesn’t mean the march was powerless.
To PERIOD, the March symbolizes hope. Hope that the people who attended and plenty more are willful enough to keep demanding change. But mostly, it represents how far we’ve come, and how far we are from finishing. The March brought all types of people together to advocate for far more than just women’s rights, but also immigration reform, healthcare reform, reproductive rights, LGBTQ rights, racial equality, freedom of religion, and workers’ rights. Period’s goal of bringing menstruators and non-mentruators together to fight for social, educational, and legislative change surrounding periods is a big part of the Women’s March. We hope to continue to get more people involved with our message, and encourage everyone to support the March however they can.
