About a year ago, it was estimated that about 500,000 people, mainly women, marched on Washington DC in response to President Trump's inauguration.
It was a tumultuous time for this country as he was getting into office, and many argue that it still is. However, women wanted to make a statement right in the beginning that one, arguably sexist to the point of self-incrimination, will not suppress millions of people he was now responsible for representing. It made an undeniable statement on this country and began a precedent that will hopefully continue until equality is achieved.
After the success of the march, cities around the country (and even around the world) held their own marches in an attempt to show the unwavering support and present a united front so that women everywhere got to express their voice too. Philadelphia was proudly the first city to hold a sister march, so when 2018 rolled around and it was time to march again, there was no doubt that they would hold another.
I didn't go to a women's march last year. I don't exactly know why. At that time I hadn't marched before, it was winter in Philly so there was probably snow, homework was assigned. Many excuses I had that just aren't good enough. This time, I didn't let those get in the way.
It was time to practice what I preach.
I am a feminist. I think everyone should be a feminist (we'll save that for another piece). It's equality. It's a no-brainer. And if I want my voice to be heard, if I want things to change in this country, I needed to do something about it.
A group of my friends (all girls) and I got together the night before to make signs. Even just looking up goods quotes online about the strength of women and the faults of the patriarchy was enough to start feeling inspired. That feeling definitely did not go away within the next 24 hours.
We woke up early on a Saturday for it. Many people did. Riding the train into the city seeing just how many women from colleges all down the Main Line sacrificed sleeping in for democracy was inspiring. Seeing moms bringing their sons and daughters along gave me hope.
One mom next to me leaned down to her very young son and said "This is special, this is important. There are so many countries out there where people aren't allowed to do this and stand up for what they believe. We're lucky we can do this and that means we need to do it when we can." It reminded me just how lucky I am, in the midst of all the resistance against being part of the oppressed.
While participating in the march and reading everyone's signs and hearing everyone's stories, it was clear we aren't perfect. There are still people who aren't satisfied with just feminism and believe that someone who identifies as white or cis, not on the minority spectrum, then their feminism wasn't valid.
My feminism is intersectional, but just because my sign didn't clarify that doesn't mean I didn't have a right to be there. In fact, we all had a right to be there, and we need to focus on bringing each other up and staying together before we find the faults in our allies.
It will never be enough. Marching and listening to speakers trying to motivate us and tell us what they've done to better this world isn't enough. There needs to be action. It's true that this is a good start, but it's time to support more women getting involved in the government so they can better represent the population.
It's time to demand equal pay and equal respect. And it's time to stop preying on women because the time of us sitting back and staying quiet so they can stay comfortable is over. Change is now.
