In Defense of the Women's March on Washington

Being a part of the Women's March on Washington was one of the most empowering moments of my life, and it will likely go down in the history books as well. The feeling of being surrounded by hundreds of thousands of people who were also committed to equality, diversity, and democracy was reenergizing in the wake of an election that shocked and divided our country.

Yet, my high from the march was crushed the following day when I woke up to comments by friends, family, and trolls on the Internet dismissing the marchers. Some on the right thought that American women have no reason to complain or that the march was disrespectful. Others on the left thought the march was the epitome of non-intersectional feminism. There have been plenty of think pieces dedicated to the Women's March, but I want to add my voice, hoping it will reach those in my network who have kept a closed mind.

Why we marched

While women have made large strides in the past few decades and have the illusion of equality, we still face many barriers that men don't.

Some glass ceilings have shattered, yet women still aren't respected in the workplace: women don't get the same pay for equal work, are discriminated against in fields ranging from STEM to music, and are absent from leadership roles in corporate world, nonprofit world, and government. In and outside the workplace, women are subjected to a culture which tells women that they should be beautiful and not smart, that being a stay at home mom, working mom, or no mom at all is each a unique betrayal to womanhood, that being assertive is "bossy," etc, etc, etc ad infinitum. This culminates in rape culture, through which men harass women on the streets, at home, and on campuses with little or no consequence. Corporations even turn around and use these sexist fantasies to market products. That doesn't even get into the male lawmakers who deny women their constitutional right to abortion and reproduction freedom.

Think globally, act locally

Do women in other parts of the world have it worse? Absolutely, but women in some countries also have it better than American women do. As an American citizen, however, I have a civic duty to stand up for my values in my own community. Marching in the streets is not disrespectful to women in sexist countries; it is an act of solidarity. Marching in the streets is not disrespectful to Mr. Trump either; it is a patriotic embrace of my right to freedom of speech and assembly. Do you know what is disrespectful? Mr. Trump's treatment of women.

Women's issues are intersectional

The Women's March was about so much more than women's issues; rather, the march recognized that immigrant rights, black lives matter, LGBT rights, climate action, and gun control are also women's issues. They matter to women and they matter for women's equality, as the fight to end sexism, racism, and homophobia are all intertwined. And men are willing to join us in the fight.

Early on, the march was criticized for not including women of color, and the organizers quickly reacted and included diverse women in their leadership. From the leadership to the people in the streets, people of all walks of lives were represented at the march. That's why it disappointed me to read this Medium article criticizing the march. I can't deny her experience, but I can speak to my own: I heard loud chants of "black lives matter" and "trans lives matter" as I marched alongside women of all abilities, ages, color, shapes, and zipcodes. As to the comment that it was disrespectful to shout "march" over Janelle Monae's #SayHerName/ BLM performance, the reality was that most marchers couldn't hear her or any of the other speakers due to poor A/V planning. We had been standing in the crowd for hours with no clear communication about why the march hadn't started and eager to take to the streets.

Criticism isn't action in itself
It is easy for both sides to be critical, especially given the shear magnitude of the Women's March. While critical thinking should be encouraged, criticism without action accomplishes the same as silence. Sitting at your computer making memes isn't going to change things. Getting hundreds of thousands of people in the street will.

So if you think that American women can't complain since women "have it worse" in Saudi Arabia, what are you doing to help those women? If you think that the women's march is excluding important groups, what are you doing to make the movement more inclusive? If your life is perfect and you have nothing to complain about, what are you going to do for those who are less privileged? I know what I am going to do: I am going to continue to march, to write my representatives, and to advocate for equality loud and clear. History has its eyes on us.

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More information about the Women's March on Washington:

Vision and mission statement
Full recording of speakers and performers
10 Actions for the First 100 Days campaign

More than just a woman on US currency

I'm elated that a woman will finally be represented on US paper currency. But why do so few seem to celebrate that a person of color will also be represented? Harriet Tubman, an activist and abolitionist most known for her leadership in the Underground Railroad, certainly deserves her place on the $20 bill. However, her identity as a black women cannot be ignored. If anything, Harriet Tubman is more known for her work fighting against racism than fighting against sexism. Why, then, is one part of her identity celebrated over another? From the mainstream media to nerdy comics to my Facebook feed, people seemed to ignore this part of Harriet Tubman's identity (and I'm not even getting into the straight-up racist reactions).

An imagined Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill.
Source: Harriet Tubman Historical Society

Of course, racism, sexism, and all of these -isms are ultimately connected and perpetuated by many of the same hegemonic power structures. Yet even "progressive" advocates are guilty of perpetuating other -isms.  Many popular feminists like Lena Dunham have been criticized for being "white feminists" insomuch as their work and advocacy excludes the struggles of women of color. (Some feminists of color instead use the term"womanist" instead to separate themselves from white feminists). Speaking of dollars, while white women make only 78 cents on the dollar of what men make, black women make just 64 cents on the dollar and Latinas make 56 cents on the dollar of what men make due to these institutionalized -isms. In fact, some critics lament that putting Harriet Tubman on the $20 goes against everything she fought for by making her a symbol of the oppressive economy she fought against. (Root writer Cedric Mobley has a great response to those critics).

Gender Wage Gap (note that it fluctuates from year to year)
Source: New Republic & AAUW

This post is long overdue, yet the problem remains. Certainly, we need more women, people of color, and other minorities represented on our currency. After all, money is power, and those who we chose to memorialize on currency retain that power symbolically. It should also be noted that Women on 20's, the group that advocated for Harriet Tubman to be on the $20 bill, has a diverse list of women candidates who Harriet Tubman beat out. Let's not make the same mistake when these women get on our currency. Instead, let's celebrate all parts of their heritage & identity.

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* Case in point: a search for "Harriet Tubman woman $20" on Google News yields 49,700 results, while "Harriet Tubman black $20" yields 31,300 results (and "Harriet Tubman African-American $20" yields 11,880). 31,300 + 11,880 still is less than 49,700. I'm unable to find the original print headlines from April 20, 2016 when it was announced that Tubman would grace the $20, but I'm still sleuthing. 

"Daddy, girls can't play the guitar!"

Although it's easy to overlook or forget about, sexism is alive in well in modern America. Just today I went in to a local music shop to get my guitar checked out since my pickup's been misbehaving. As I was carrying my guitar in, a little girl who was about four years old stared at me and exclaimed loudly to her father, "Daddy, girls can't play the guitar! It's only for boys."

Now I was shocked. I've been playing the guitar for almost 8 years, and I am certifiably a girl. I'm no Jimmy Page, but I can also certifiably rock out. Where was this girl, with her pink Barbie dress and blonde hair, getting the message that women are physically incapable, or at least discouraged, from playing the guitar? It's bad enough to hear men put women down, but I think it's even worse when sexists can convince girls and women put themselves down.

Why are there so few women lead guitarists? There are famous female vocalists, pianists, and violinists, but there are very few famous women guitarists, much less lead guitarists. Rolling Stone's famous 2003 list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time only includes two female guitarists, Joni Mitchell at #72 and Joan Jett at #87, neither of whom is known for their solos. Looking at Rolling Stones' 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time, only one song written and played by a woman makes the cut, Joan Jett and the Blackheart's "I Love Rock and Roll" coming in at #89.

Yet there are women out there who can shred, just check out Venus Magazine's response to the Stones article, The Greatest Female Guitarists of All Time. Or listen to Susan Tedesci, Orianthi (who was scheduled to be Michael Jackson's guitarist in his This is It tour and is pictured on the right), Bonnie Rait, Melissa Etheridge, Jewel, Joan Jett, Ann Wilson of Heart, and even Avril Lavigne. If you don't believe me that these girls are talented, watch Orianthi shred Eddie Van Halen style or Susan Tedesci play some (original) old school blues.

However, the few girls that do play guitar get more attention for their appearance than their talent. For example, when I searched "famous women guitarists" on Google, the second site was "Top 12 Hottest Female Guitarists Ever," implying that the women that do play guitar don't even get credit for their talent, only for their sex appeal. Just look at any of the comments of videos of girls playing guitar on YouTube and you'll see a lot of comments about their looks and not about their music. Here are just some of the comments on the Orianthi video I posted. iRewel says, "I'd blow a few loads in that whore." Meanwhile, Lemonsongthe writes, "She should practice more instead of doing her hair and her make up that was sloppy as fuck." NJguitarnewbjk muses that she "should have gone into the porn industry."

Let's not forget IxMAKExUxGoXLOL's analysis, "A woman trying to do something that a man has already done several times better... Typical." True, there are also many people who have praised Orianthi for her talent (including legends Steve Vai, Michael Jackson, and Carlos Santana), but you can also find comment boards full of people picking apart her every riff and insulting her every move and hairdo. Maybe Sinead O'Connor's strategy is the best- to avoid being successful because of her looks alone, Sinead shaves her head and wears humble clothes in all of her appearances. By the way, Sinead plays the guitar as well as sings.

Maybe it's that the guitar is a phallic symbol, or at least more entrenched in the male identity than the female experience. In fact, it seems like it's a rite of passage for every teenage boy to learn at least "Smoke on the Water" on the guitar. Girls, on the other hand, are taught to copy the moves from the latest music video. For guys, playing the guitar is a cliche way to "get all the chicks," though by no means is the reverse true. In Guitar World's analysis of the Top 10 Reasons to Play Guitar one of the reasons is for playing guitar is "Mating." The article details:

Boys, admit it. Whatever your purportedly purist goals were, you had visions of female affection racing through your mind when you figured out the riff to “Enter Sandman.” After all, it pays off when the fairer sex sees how well you can use your hands. Conversely, girls, though you often don’t get proper recognition as players, you automatically have the rapt attention of every male music-nerd who dreams of dating a guitar heroine."

I've played a lot of shows, and I've never found that being a girl that plays guitar has made guys attracted to me (singing, on the other hand, is completely different if you're a girl). In fact, it's clear that being a good girl guitarist intimidates guys most of the time, and they find it embarrassing if a girl can play better than them. The best compliments I've ever received while playing is that "you play like a guy." Being a girl who can play guitar is about constantly trying to prove yourself, even if you're not trying to be the next Hendrix. Check out Being a Female Guitarist Takes Balls for a good narrative by girl in the music industry.

Why can't girls play guitar? Ultimately, it's a combination of societal factors. There is no precedence of women being famous for playing the guitar, and sex appeal is more important than talent to succeed the music industry, especially if you're female. It's because girls like the one I encountered in the store don't think that girls are supposed to play the guitar. However, sexism is not limited to the music industry. I originally had included sexism in politics and religion in this post, but I think I'll save it for another time. It'll still be around when I have the time to write about it later.