By Molly Igoe
News Editor
“I am a nasty woman. I am not as nasty as a man who looks like he bathes in Cheeto dust. A man whose words are a distraction to America; Electoral College-sanctioned hate speech contaminating this national anthem… I’m nasty like the battles my grandmothers fought to get me into the voting booth. I’m nasty like the fight for wage equality. Scarlett Johansson: Why were the famous actors paid less than half of what the male actors earned last year? Why is the work of a Black woman and a Hispanic woman worth only 63 and 54 cents of a white man’s privileged dollar?”
I listened to the above speech, performed by activist and actress Ashley Judd, written by 19-year old Nina Donavon at the rally on Jan. 21, where thousands of other women, of all different races, ethnicities, religions, and beliefs came together to unite. Not solely to protest President Donald Trump, but to protest an idea: the belief that women are inferior, objects that men and the government can dictate and control. This is why I had come: to speak up for the women who will suffer horribly without access to Planned Parenthood, and who will be forced back into the Dark Ages of blood-soaked closet abortions.
I did not just come for this purpose, though. I came in defiance of every gross, unjust, inhumane statement Trump has said on the campaign trail. I showed up ready to fight for Muslim men and women, who will not and should not be subject to a national registry; for the Latino community with undocumented family members, or those covered by DAPA and DACA, who fear for their lives and their futures; for American Indians who have to contend with the dangers of having a pipeline rip apart their land; for LGBTQ members who do not know if they will ever experience true equality; for the disabled, who are in danger of losing their basic rights. I also came for those who voted for Trump, and for those who genuinely believe that what he promises will improve America. As Van Jones said, we should not villainize Trump supporters! It is their choice that we believe was bad, not necessarily who they are as people.
I have been fortunate enough to have lived a safe and comfortable life, where I do not live in constant fear for my safety or wellbeing. As a white, middle class college student, I cannot fathom what other women who do not have the privilege that I have go through every day. At the rally, key members of the Black Lives Matter movement spoke, as did a few of the march founders who are Muslim and Latino. I cannot personally understand the twofold obstacles that women of color face, but after going to this march, I know what I can do to support and rally around them. Getting more involved in the Black Lives Matter movement is one way to support this kind of intersectional approach that is so crucial to the success of this movement, or empowering organizations that help Muslim community members feel safe. That intersectionality is exactly why the march was as powerful as it was: all these different segments of the population were represented and were united with a common goal.
I will end by saying this: I will not accept the current state of affairs in this country, and I cannot just sit by anymore. So yes, I am a nasty woman, not only because I proudly voted for Hillary Rodham Clinton, and not only because I believe that women should have the right to their own bodies, but because I will not accept that a man who degrades and debases women could ever truly represent my interests or my rights. For now, we must keep fighting and remember that when we are united, we can achieve seemingly impossible things.