Women’s March Los Angeles
Fighting On for Intersectional Feminism
By Grace Carballo ‘17
Last Saturday, millions of people around the world took to the streets to march for women’s rights, our human rights. The New York Times assembled a photo from each city’s Women’s March, from Nairobi to Lima, Tel Aviv to Sydney (and, of course, dozens of U.S. cities). I get chills each time I scroll through the images of the different demonstrations (and not just when I catch a glimpse of the Antarctica march). What a tremendous display of unity: women make up over half of the world’s population and will not be silenced.
Many USC students, recognizing the significance of these peaceful, yet powerful demonstrations, chose to participate in Women’s March Los Angeles.
My housemates and I held each other accountable for the early Saturday morning wakeup (8:00 AM!) and joined many of the other passengers on the bus en route to Pershing Square. By chance, we ran into some fellow Trojans amongst the hundreds of thousands of people gathered. I spotted one of my friends by her hat- a “Protect Roe v Wade” baseball cap that USC SAGE (Student Assembly for Gender Empowerment) members had passed out on Trousdale a few days prior.
For me, the Women’s March represented and continues to represent a powerful, physical manifestation of women and allies marching around the world, and serious momentum we can use to make women’s rights a priority and demand internationally.
“Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all women.” - Maya Angelou
But, like any movement or political act, the Women’s March and its organizers faced serious criticism. And, while there is always room for improvement in future endeavors, I respect the ways in which the organizers of the Women’s March recognized, heard, and restructured their leadership after initial criticisms of promoting an exclusive, white feminist agenda
The Women’s March on Washington was proposed originally by Teresa Shook, a grandmother residing in Hawaii, who created a Facebook event shortly after the election which soon had thousands of attendees by the hour, especially after the idea reached Pantsuit Nation. Other women, almost exclusively white women, administering similar Facebook pages consolidated them into one united effort.
Critics rejected the original name, Million Women March, as it ignored the fact that a Million Women March had already taken place in 1997 in Philadelphia and co-opted the name without recognition. The Million Women March was intended to help bring development and power throughout black communities in the U.S. and to bring empowerment and sisterhood to women, men and children of African descent globally. The rename has also been criticized for similar appropriation to the famous March on Washington of the civil rights movement.
After receiving criticism about the lack of diversity in its leadership, the Women’s March on Washington organizers not only listened, but also addressed these concerns by restructuring their leadership and restating the March’s purpose:
“It is important to all of us that the white women who are engaged in this effort understand their privilege, and acknowledge the struggle that women of color face. We have and will continue to encourage our state organizers to reach out to women from all communities. This means not only asking them to join the WMW, but also challenging our new community to show up in support of the efforts of other activists and fighters for justice.”
Other Women’s March participants expressed frustration that so many people came out for this March but failed to take similar stands on issues that affect women of color and people of color in general. A photo of Angela Peoples went viral after the March because it called attention to the fact that 53% of white women voters voted for Trump. Peoples spoke to USA Today and explained that a failure to acknowledge and include women of color can make them and their disparities invisible within the feminist movement:
“I feel like there have been a lot of white liberals who want to bring white women and black women to the table to talk, but we can’t have that conversation until you acknowledge the power and privilege you’re bringing to the table, until white women do some work for themselves and by themselves.“
Many Women’s March participants made signs, some of which protested President Donald Trump’s comments about the unwanted advances he makes on women, “Grab ‘em by the pussy, you can do anything.”
Many signs incorporated some variation of “This pussy grabs back” and social media hashtags #pussygrabsback went viral after video footage of Trump’s comments was released in October. This hashtag continues to be a rallying cry as President Trump enacts policies which some are dubbing a “war on women.”
Some criticize this pussy-focused narrative because it’s inherently (though perhaps unintentionally) exclusive. Brenda Saldaña critiqued “Pussy Grabs Back” by pointing out that it represents Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminism (TERF):
“You can’t use or try to reclaim a narrative that is inherently misogynist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, that spews hatred and instills fear.”
What now?
The March is over but the work is just beginning. Janet Mock concluded her speech at the Women’s March by recognizing that mere participation on one day is not enough, but rather a call to further action:
“But a movement – a movement is so much more than a march. A movement is that difficult space between our reality and our vision. Our liberation depends on all of us, all of us returning to our homes and using this experience and all the experiences that have shaped us to act, to organize, to resist.”
Women’s March organizers are calling on participants and allies to participate in 10 Actions in the next 100 Days. They clearly lay out the steps to take for each action and recognize that continuous, coordinated efforts like these can lead to real impactful change.
The Women’s March, though certainly not perfect, was hugely impactful and an important piece of herstory. In fact, the USC Libraries Special Collections is creating an archive for donated signs, buttons, etc. if you would like to contribute.
Whatever your March experience was or however you choose to continue your activism, I hope you remember that united we are so much stronger and if it is exclusive to people of color, or LGBTQI communities, or inaccessible to the poor, “it is neither radical nor revolutionary.”
Fight injustice on,
Grace Carballo ‘17
Visit Trojans 360 on Facebook & Twitter to stay up to date with more student content!Want more from Trojans 360?
You can also Ask A Trojan an anonymous question, and we’ll try to answer it in a future post!
And don’t forget to follow us on Instagram!
Trojans 360 is USC’s official student-run blog. Content created by students, for students.
