Alexis Weston | Staff Writer
The Women’s March on Washington was held the day after President Trump’s inauguration and sparked several other supporting demonstrations, with 5 million people protesting worldwide.
The Women’s March was presented as a successful protest for all women. However, not all groups were clearly represented by the protest.
According to Devon Maloney’s article, “Some Inconvenient Truths About The Women’s March On Washington,” the march was, “initially intended to highlight women’s issues before expanding its official platform to include civil rights for people of color, the LGBTQ and disability communities, and refugees and undocumented immigrants.”
If it were a march dedicated to women, why wouldn’t these demographics automatically be included?
The rally had many guest speakers, including Madonna and Scarlett Johansson. Madonna, a pop culture icon that has very publicly self-identified as a feminist, seems like a no brainer for an event like this. However, in January 2014, Madonna posted a photo of her son with a hashtag that included a racial slur.
After receiving backlash, she changed the caption and blamed her audience for being too sensitive. In April 2015, Madonna kissed Drake during a performance. The video made it clear Drake had no opportunity to consent to it. Considering Madonna’s track record of being racist and sexually harassing others, it doesn’t seem like she should have a platform in an “all inclusive” movement.
Scarlett Johansson said in her speech, “I didn’t vote for [Trump]. But I want to be able to support [him]. But first I ask that [he] support me.”
I cannot help but wonder if she expects him to support all women or her narrow-minded view of womanhood. In 2016, Johansson accepted a role as Motoko Kusanagi in Ghost in the Shell, a Japanese manga. If she’s already been complacent in the erasure of women of color, who is she calling Mr. Trump to support?
Those who spoke for underrepresented groups in the crowd were silenced. After Raquel Willis, a Black transsexual woman, and activist, had her mic cut off in the middle of her speech she tweeted, “Still silencing trans women. I see you and so does everyone else.”
This is not where the transmisogyny ended. According to How the Women’s March’s “genital-based” feminism isolated the transgender community by Marie Solis, “Signs like ‘P***y power’, ‘Viva la Vulva’ and ‘P***y grabs back’ all sent a clear and oppressive message to trans women, especially: having a vagina is essential to womanhood.” It is essential that feminism acknowledges that some women have penises.
The march also ignored black women and women of color. largely ignored by a key demographic….white women.
The Hampton Script 