{"id":1333,"date":"2017-01-27T01:22:26","date_gmt":"2017-01-27T06:22:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/idavox.com\/?p=1333"},"modified":"2017-06-22T12:53:31","modified_gmt":"2017-06-22T16:53:31","slug":"millions-join-womens-marches-worldwide-empowering-some-femme-voices-while-diminishing-others","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/idavox.com\/index.php\/2017\/01\/27\/millions-join-womens-marches-worldwide-empowering-some-femme-voices-while-diminishing-others\/","title":{"rendered":"Millions Join Women\u2019s Marches Worldwide, Empowering Some Femme Voices while Diminishing Others"},"content":{"rendered":"

Unicorn Riot breaks down the successes and missteps from Saturday’s historic rally.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Unicorn Riot<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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On January 21st, 2017, there were nearly five hundred Women\u2019s Marches in the United States and two hundred internationally. Attendance at the largest marches, located in Washington, D.C., Chicago, NYC, Boston, Denver, and Los Angeles, were estimated to number between 100,000-750,000 each.<\/p>\n

According to the official Women\u2019s March website<\/a>, the intent of the march was as follows:<\/p>\n

In the spirit of democracy and honoring the champions of human rights, dignity, and justice who have come before us, we join in diversity to show our presence in numbers too great to ignore. The Women\u2019s March on Washington will send a bold message to our new government on their first day in office, and to the world that women\u2019s rights are human rights. We stand together, recognizing that defending the most marginalized among us is defending all of us\u2026We will not rest until women have parity and equity at all levels of leadership in society. We work peacefully while recognizing there is no true peace without justice and equity for all.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Although the combined marches had record numbers for a one-day event<\/a> which created a powerful statement for unity, equality, and justice, the marches resulted for the most part in highlighting the voices and needs of the least marginalized people, leaving some to publicly proclaim their intent on being absent from the march.<\/p>\n

Historically, feminism and women\u2019s movements of the last several decades have been criticized for their lack of analysis of all intersections of womanhood.<\/p>\n

Criticism and distrust of \u201cwhite feminism\u201d have been offered by scholars of varying intersections. Most mock the tendency of \u201cwhite feminism\u201d to always point to the lowest common denominator: assigned gender. Some problems with using assigned gender as a basis for unity among women are that for some, race is inseparable from gender, and for others, gender is not correlated to that which they were assigned at birth.<\/p>\n

One of the organizers and speakers at the Women\u2019s March on Washington was Gloria Steinem, best known for her leadership in the (white) feminism movement in the 1960s-70s, and lesser known for her work with the CIA<\/a>. She reminded the crowd of mostly white people that to create change, they occasionally need to step away from their computers and smartphones:<\/p>\n

Thank you for understanding that sometimes we must put our bodies where our beliefs are. Sometimes pressing send is not enough.\u201d<\/strong> \u2013 Gloria Steinem<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

During Saturday\u2019s multi-city protest, millions of feminists worldwide took to the streets to fulfill the organizers mission to \u201csend a message to [America\u2019s] new government on their first day in office\u201d<\/strong>. Whether or not that message was received by the new administration is yet to be determined, but the message sent to the women in the intersections, like Patience Zalanga in the video below, was clear.<\/p>\n

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“We been struggling for a minute now … We’ll see where this takes us…” WATCH here: https:\/\/t.co\/E0WBrkoll0<\/a> #WomensMarchMN<\/a> #WomensMarch<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/Fda1LsVeNC<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Unicorn Riot (@UR_Ninja) January 24, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n