A day at the Women's March on Washington

January 22, 2017

For me, the Women’s March on Washington started at 8:30 AM on the D.C. metro. Women in their knitted pink pussy hats were everywhere, filling every train with signs, chants, and too much noise for too early in the morning. People were charged and happy, like there was an IV drip filled with caffeine personally poured by Gloria Steinem.

The crowds were massive from the outset, with people bearing the most excellent signs. Personal favorites included “Pussy so mad my period came to march” (I was also leaking menstrual blood all over D.C., which felt appropriate), any variation on the tiny hands theme, and a depiction of Putin as a leather daddy to Trump’s sex slave. There were, blessedly, a number of Harry Potter references.

Read on for more.

Text by Jocelyn Silver
Photos by Maggie Shannon

Posters tackled the racism of Trump and his cabinet, funding for Planned Parenthood, immigration, women’s right to choose, climate change, LGBT rights, Black Lives Matter, Standing Rock, veterans’ rights, Muslim rights, disability rights, and many, many more. Several signs called upon white women to do better with intersectional feminism. “Too many issues, not enough poster,” was one that pretty much said it all.

The event itself seemed to work hard to correct initial missteps, with a massive lineup of diverse speakers. America Ferrera railed against Trump. Senator Tammy Duckworth, who lost both of her legs in Iraq, said “she didn’t shed blood… to have the Constitution trampled on.” Gloria Steinem declared Trump mentally unfit. Janelle Monae lead a chant remembering victims of police brutality with the Mothers of the Movement. Women’s March organizer Tamika Mallory asked for everyone to stand for the most marginalized members of society. Ashley Judd delivered an insane and amazing poem by teenage Tennessean Nina Donovan that must be seen to be believed. Six-year-old immigration activist Sophie Cruz was captivating. And transgender activist and author Janet Mock spoke on intersectionality, saying “Our approach to freedom need not be identical but it must be intersectional and inclusive. It must extend beyond ourselves.”

And hundreds of thousands of people marched, or, for a while, sort of moved slowly en masse, a huge crowd stuck all together. There were chants for women’s rights and BLM and gay rights and every other issue featured on the posters. People locked hands and sang and laughed and some cried, and it was cheesy and deeply moving. One extremely triggering lady dressed up as Donald Trump and screamed, “my right to choose!” Madonna said “fuck” a million times and it was very encouraging. People cleared the way for wheelchairs. Everywhere you looked, there were more marchers. If you backed away and got some elevation, you could see waves of protesters coming like a pink tsunami.

When I got off the train at Union Station in Washington D.C. on Friday, Inauguration Day, the first thing I saw were the hats, those red baseball caps, all screaming “Make America Great Again.” And they were on everyone—old people, frat boys, women in expensively tailored clothes, men in an unsettling amount of hunting camouflage, and young children. I recently went to the Scientology center in LA, where everyone wanders around in naval uniforms believing in Xenu, alien dictator of the Galactic Confederacy. That felt a lot like the train station with the fucking hats.

But then on Saturday, D.C. was teeming with a different sort of headgear, pink knit caps with cat ears. They were everywhere. It’s now estimated that as many as 600,000 people marched in D.C., millions nationwide, even more globally. We were surrounded by hundreds of thousands of people who were all there to support women’s rights. I have never been to anything like it; there has never been anything like it. A veritable army of pussies.

Writing for The New Yorker ahead of the event, Jia Tolentino quoted poet Eduardo Galeano. "'No matter how much I walk, I'll never reach her.' But the idea of a future marked by equality and respect will make hundreds of thousands walk." They didn't just walk. They screamed.

Politics

#TeachTrumpToVogue

The themes explored in Paris Is Burning, which intersect at the crossroads of gender, sexuality, and race performativity within the underground NYC ball scene, were contextualized under the Reagan administration and the AIDS crisis in the 1980's. But now in the Trump era, with federal support seeming more and more out of reach with each passing day, these issues feel increasingly relevant. "It's important for me not just as an openly gay man, but also as an immigrant whose second language is English, that we have candidates who represent these marginalized groups," says Garcia. "The fact that someone like me can run for city council in 2017—especially in The Bronx, which is the most 'macho' district—can be credited to these people that came before me."

Javier Ninja, who literally grew up with these notable figures from NYC voguing "houses" and is currently the father of the Legendary House of Ninja, feels adamantly that electing officials who put minority issues at the forefront of their campaign is key. "To have people here in the United States put their foot forward and say, 'Yeah I'm gay, I'm political, and I'm going to do whatever I can to save my community and make a change' is really important." Pro-LGBT politics during the 80's and 90's faced a much harsher push back, and the issue of LGBT youth homelessness was aided in large part by these underground houses. "In Paris Is Burning and in the vogue community, what ended up happening was that these houses became these kids' mothers and fathers," says Javier. "It wasn't a second family, but a first family, because their first family disowned them."

Elvin Garcia says that although he doesn't have any voguing skills, he does come from the "House of Civic Engagement," and he plans to enact policy changes having to do with LGBT rights if he is elected. "Houses were the non-profit social service organizations before they even existed...that's what the houses were for: getting kids off the street," he says. "Here I am now running for office, wanting to expand these programs so that we reduce LGBT youth homelessness. It really sort of came full circle at the Strike A Pose event. It was a special night."

Election day for NYC District 18 is Tuesday, September 12, and our choice for city council is Elvin Garcia.

Politics

Protect trans kids

February 25, 2017

On Wednesday, the Trump administration overturned Obama-era protections for transgender students, which said that students could use whichever bathroom corresponded to their gender identity. Removing these guidelines opents trans children to potential humiliation, bullying, and physical harm. Can we please just let people pee in peace?!

New Yorkers responded to Trump on Thursday with a massive rally outside the historic Stonewall Inn. There was generally support from the city; Mayor de Blasio said that, "We affirm the right of every New Yorker to use the bathroom that fits their identity. A new president will not change our values." Check out pictures from the rally below, and click here for ways to contact your senators and the Department of Education to demand that they protect trans kids.

Photos by Andrew Boyle