This past weekend, on the anniversary of the inaugural Womens March, I joined millions of women and our allies in calling to attention how our rights or lack-there-of are being violated. Though the energy was powerful, the rally itself, was far from ideal.
I was completely disheartened by how Womens March tokenized Sex Worker and Trans activists and purposely restricted our formal participation- both before and during the rally, to the bare minimum. As women we are already marginalized- BUT To create a “hierarchy” within this marginalization by prioritizing specific communities only fractures the collective feminist agenda. It sends the very clear message that some matter more than others.
As a cis gendered white woman I was inspired by and felt it necessary that the women of color and white women who implored during their speeches, that we acknowledge our place within privilege and use it to fight equally as hard for our less privileged sisters. This reminder is imperative to the empowerment of the matriarchy. But where was the intersectional cry of support for Sex Workers and Trans Women?
Now it’s hard to put a finger on why exactly I feel like Sex Workers (and our Trans-sisters) were “invited” just to fill a quota, keep calm a potential internet shit-storm and protect important donors from seeing how bigoted Womens March is, BUT It definitely has a bit to do with how other groups were allowed many speakers, longer stage and screen time and how they were also personally celebrated by the core organizers of Womens March. That being said, I AM SO INCREDIBLY MOVED BY HOW MY SEX WORKER, TRANS SISTERS AND ALLIES SHOWED THE FUCK UP. The organization, support and all the noise brought when we finally had our time to speak was perhaps one of my proudest moments as an activist and I thank you so much for being the dedicated, power houses you are.
Yes, the feminist movement is incredibly fractured and far from ideal but it does not discredit the advancements we have made and will continue to make. After all we are human and we are flawed. May we we keep showing up and keep making noise so that it continues to increase the visibility we need to effectively create conversation and inspire more women to fight along side us.
Much love to all of my dear friends who rallied along side me and in spirit, y’all are my life force and I will always be loud and proud as fuck to rep our cause.
Xxo -Val