On January 21st, 2017 our globe was covered in various Women's Marches, from right here in Greensboro, North Carolina, to Antartica to Australia. Hundreds of thousands of women all over the world with one idea in mind. Change.
The Women's March was something that was much larger than most people anticipated. It brought together so many people for so much good. However, social media has been a hub for both criticism and support of the marches, when, in reality, it was an incredibly empowering day for so many people all over the world. Although the marches were directly in response to the inauguration, it covered so much more than just being against Donald Trump.
It was a chance for people of all races, ethnicities, backgrounds, genders, and religions to come together for a cause they felt like still has so much room to improve upon. No matter how much progress has been made, that doesn't mean there isn't still room for trying to make things even better. We live in a country where our President has been built on misogyny, bullying, wealth, and firing people on reality TV, you really wonder where the morals of the rest of the country are. This isn't an anti-Trump article, this is a pro women's rights article.
People have seemed to fail to realize the intent of these marches. A prominent theme in the marches was not bringing down Trump but was that of consent. We live in a society where the term "rape" has been normalized for boys to throw around like a football. I should not be scrolling down Twitter and see someone referring to "rape," in the sense of the days latest basketball score. We live in a society where Brock Turner can walk free after a few months. We live in a society where rape victims are too scared to ask for help so they don't tell anyone. According to RAINN, an organization devoted to helping against sex-violence, 994 out of every 1000 rapists will walk free. There is a 1 in 5 chance that a woman will be raped in her lifetime, and that is not a statistic that anyone should be comfortable with. On top of that, in 31 states the rapist is able to sue for custodial or visitation rights. It's not about hating Donald Trump; it's about hating the things he has stood for.
The empowerment that was felt throughout our country yesterday was a new feeling to so many. It was the feeling that we could achieve more rights, make more progress, do more good, for all people. For the LGBTQ community, women, the disabled, education, everything and everyone. So many people desire more change, and many are fearful that we will not only not be able to obtain it, but regress. Many tweets and many memes referred to the "fat women" Trump was able to motivate, thus proving further the need for change. When hundreds of thousands of women can come together to desire change, change will come.
Women must all be able to stand together, all Americans must be able to stand together, we must be willing to want to continue to grow. To be comfortable enough with these things to question why women would march for rights is beyond me. This was not simply to protest a president. This was not simply for a bunch of women to whine. This was to make a point. That so many people will not stand for a government, for a man, who has built a career, built a life, on belittling and dehumanizing so many.
