Last Saturday women by the millions took the streets across the nation to protest. As many commentators have noted, the purpose of their marching was not precisely clear, even to the marchers. It certainly had something to do with clever pink knit hats that were supposed to be somehow anatomically presentative. There must have been more to it than that for sure.
Yes, “reproductive rights” and “women’s health” were a key part which actually means just one thing: abortion. It is not actually reproductive nor healthy. Euphemisms.
Given this, did this march of millions of women really represent women?
I read a unique and insightful article earlier this week that challenged this very question as well as the real nature of the march. It is written by a Canadian columnist, Margaret Went, who generally identifies with the ideals of mainstream feminism. Her piece appeared in Canada’s country wide paper, The Globe & Mail.
The money part of Wente’s piece is here:
“But will this weekend’s march change history? Not a chance. Women’s solidarity is a mirage. Forty-two per cent of U.S. women voted for Donald Trump. Among white women, it was 53 per cent. The people we saw on Saturday simply reflected the Democratic base: big-city urban and suburban professionals, overwhelmingly white, along with people from minority groups. I liked the festive air – the pink “pussy hats,” the cheeky signs, the people dressed up as vaginas. But the keynote speakers – Gloria Steinem, Angela Davis, and Madonna – were relics from another age. Let’s face it. The heady, glorious days of feminism are far behind us.”
Her point is not to slam the March or its efforts, but to explain that women are not a monolithic body, which is obvious enough if we just think about it. She’s saying it didn’t seem to represent most women, not even the smartest, most enlightened ones. It represented only one sliver of the female population. This march was properly a national, if not global, demonstration writ large that radical feminism jumped the shark some time ago. Most women, who care passionately about genuine women’s issues, did delight to see other women being publically active and vocal, but largely rolled their eyes at this march’s theatrics and rhetoric.
It has little to do with their world and concerns.