Love Trumps Hate: The Women's March Then and Now

On January 21^st, 2017 I witnessed the power of groundswell and resistance through participating in the women’s march. A native of Maine, I took to Portland, Maine to march among a band of social justice advocates fighting in solidarity for human rights. 

I currently live in Boston and I truly wish that I could have been in two places at once, but thanks to the power of social media I was moved to see cities all over the world marching in solidarity.  Resistance is an act of love.

As I stood at the top of Munjoy hill surrounded by fired up people and a sea of social justice signs, I was struck by a wave of emotions: pride, shock, anger, sadness, fear, confusion and an overwhelming sense of empowerment. I felt energized to be a small part of this movement and rejuvenated to see how many others believe in equality.

For the first time since gaining the right to vote, the presidential election ended in an outcome that I did not want. I realized how lucky my young adult life had been to have had a progressive president who did so much to move our nation forward. It was the first time I had marched following an election and it made me wonder what it was like for the many women’s rights advocates in previous generations to unite as a whole.

Social media played a huge role in generating one of the largest protest marches in Maine and uniting advocates all across the globe. Speaking personally, I checked event pages on Facebook to easily find the logistics of where the marches were taking place and to see if any of my other friends were participating. I noticed other Facebook friends posting statuses that asked who else would be marching. It’s easier than ever to connect and create coalitions.

I was curious to learn more about how advocates communicated in previous generations to generate momentum and turn out for marches.  This past weekend, I watched the documentary She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry, which show cased the women’s marches that took place in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Interestingly, in those years, advocates used pamphlets and position papers to communicate issues of inequality. Notably, in 1969 Alta started the Shameless Hussy Press and in the early 1970s Gloria Steinem's help to co-found Ms. Magazine, as a way to contribute media for women by women. 

It was striking to see how many issues in the 1970s march---such as the right to choose when to give birth, equal work for equal pay, and violence against women----are still prevalent in today’s marches.  Although it is disheartening to see much of women’s progress set backwards, the millions of people marching for justice is uplifting. It is encouraging that social media makes it exponentially easier to connect than it was in the 1970s.