“Pourquoi?”: A short commentary on the 2017 Women’s March
Admittedly, I don’t go on Facebook as much as used to, but after the events of last year’s presidential election, oh boy, my feed seemed to rise from the dead. A few weeks back and among the flood of polls, news articles, and constant bickering, one of my good friends shared a link to the official website of the Women’s March. That happened to be the first time I’d ever heard of it.
The first thought that came to mind was: “Oh, wow. That’s cool.” The second thought was that of an illustration which my AP European History teacher had shown me some years back. It was a simple illustration which depicted a rather intimidating group of 18th century French women with spears, pikes, and canons. The caption reads: “Age of the Revolution”.
Now, as I am writing this, the 2017 Women’s March has already occurred (with astounding success), but still, my mind cannot seem to shake off the image of those angry French women. And the more I think of it, the more I seem unable to come up with an answer to a very simple question: Why did women march on January 21st?
In 1789, a group of female poissardes (fish-sellers), gathered in a busy marketplace in central Paris and marched their way over to the royal palace of Versailles, home to Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, King and Queen of France. Tensions between the common folk of France and the nobility were at an all-time high due to severe inflation and an especially cruel winter. As a result, the people of Paris were starving, dying, and angry.
Upon reaching Versailles, these women camped out for an entire night, hoping to somehow hold the nobility accountable for their sufferings. In a stunning turn of events, this women’s march succeeded, as the royal family were pressured into leaving the comforts of Versailles and moving to Paris, where they could be easily monitored. Because of this event, the French Revolution would enter it’s climactic phase and ultimately reach its goal: the downfall of the French monarchy.
In this case, it’s very easy to know and understand why these women gathered together and marched to Versailles. They were absolutely tired of the exploits they had been suffering at the hands of the First Estate and decided to do something about it by openly expressing their discontent with the French nobility.
Historically speaking, the French were not the first to openly protest against the wealthy. However, it is very rare to find instances in which women have taken control and openly demanded change.
Likewise, history has also given us remarkable women like Rosa Luxemburg who was an influential activist of the early 20th century and is known for having been openly opposed the German government. Most notably, she was also an outspoken critic of capitalism. In Rosa’s case, the catastrophic aftermath of the First World War had left Germany in shambles. In response, Rosa and her fellow Marxists held various protests, hoping to bring awareness to the evils of capitalism which were perceived as being at fault. Like the French women, Rosa had a clear-cut reason as to why she protested. Although she wasn’t successful in bringing about the end of capitalism, she was successful in being heard.
So, this brings me back to my central question: why did women march on January 21st?
Now, I’ve heard and read various responses to this question. For starters, I’d like to reference the official Women’s March website, in which they state, “ This march is the first step towards unifying our communities, grounded in new relationships, to create change from the grassroots level up.”
Many have looked at this march as one of solidarity and unification. And indeed, the Women’s March did achieve that. It managed to bring hundreds of thousands of women (and men!) together for a day.
But, I have also heard this march be labeled a “Protest Trump” march. It’s no secret that since his election last November, the country has been in an uproar due to his rather unconventional presidential tactics, but in regards to women, Trump’s offenses have taken it to a whole other level. Just last October a video in which Trump appeared to be having an extremely lewd conversation about women surfaced online, causing scandal.
At the march, countless posters mocking Trump were seen and even songs were composed specifically for the march.
That being said, was Trump’s misogynistic rhetoric and attitude towards women the real reason behind the march? Or are their other external factors which contributed to this march?
Looking back, there’s no denying that this march was a poignant event in these modern times. I can only hope that just as the French Women’s March on Versailles yielded astounding results 228 years ago, this 2017 Women’s March is the start of something great. A revolution, perhaps.
