Marching On: Women’s March 2018

Oh you thought we were done? Then you must not know women. One year of women across the world marching wasn’t enough, so we decided to make it an annual thing (hopefully not for the rest of time. Dear Lord, please fix our government). It’s hard enough to swallow that it didn’t take only one year of literally millions of people marching to fix our problems, but it’s even harder to realize that the year since the first Women’s March has brought more problems and even more trending hashtags. So we keep marching. And it’s more important now than it ever was for this movement to go beyond women – we need men to be our allies, not a source of indifference, fear or shame. What easier way to show you love the women in your life than by making a sassy sign and hitting the streets? It’s literally the least you can do.

Power to the Polls

The theme of this year’s march is Power to the Polls, with the goal to get one million people to register to vote in 2018.

This next stage of the movement will channel the energy and activism of the Women’s March into tangible strategies and concrete wins in 2018.

There have been elections within the last six months where one candidate is completely unfit, yet somehow the polls are still close. There have been some pretty amazing wins in these situations (thanks, ‘Bama), but it shouldn’t have to be so close. So it makes sense that this year’s focus is on voter turnout. These races where the choice is between an old white guy with a history of sexual harassment and a perfectly qualified candidate with a spotless record should be landslides, not close calls. SO VOTE! If you think your vote isn’t important, it is. Don’t be like Jerry on Parks and Rec: don’t be the reason your candidate loses by one vote.

I saw the sign

Now for the reason you really wanted to read this post: funny signs and displays of awesome female power. I’ll do my best to deliver. I attended my local Women’s March in Hartford, CT. And while it’s not the largest march in the country by a long shot, it’s full of heart, drumlines, and clever signs. Here’s the best of what I saw:

Here is a shameless plug for my sign last year:

Lady puns. #womansmarch #ladiesoftheworld

A post shared by Emily Leyland (@emilyleyl) on Jan 21, 2017 at 12:08pm PST

And another one for my sign this year:

Scenes from a #womensmarch #womensmarchct #WMCT #wearenotovaryacting

A post shared by Emily Leyland (@emilyleyl) on Jan 20, 2018 at 12:56pm PST

You don’t mess with a good thing.

But enough about me. Here are all my new lady friends. We marched together, therefore we are sisters for life

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And an extra special shoutout to this guy – you’ve got guts, sir

Start planning your signs for next year, ladies. Even if we’re in a better place politically, days like this where we all come together peacefully should come more often. I’ve never been complimented so much, seen people act with such grace, or been prouder of my state than when I’m surrounded by the women (and men!) who want to make a difference in our world. Plus you get to see how smart and clever we are through our amazing signs. Women rule.

Did you attend your local Women’s March this year? Show us your sign in the comments!

_{Images sourced from Art Machine for Social Change: amplifier.org Bookmark them to download your free posters for next year’s march.}