Women across America are protesting Donald Trump's misogyny right outside his buildings
Throughout his public life, Donald Trump has broadcast a steady stream of hatred aimed at women. His mindset was perfectly encapsulated in the now-infamous footage from Trump’s 2005 appearance on “Access Hollywood,” during which the then-reality TV star bragged about grabbing women “by the pussy” without consequence.
On Tuesday, women organizing under the hashtags #GOPHandsOffMe and #PussyGrabsBack gathered outside Trump properties across America to send an unambiguous message to Trump: That his brand of bombastic, unapologetic sexism has no place in their world.
With signs declaring themselves “Pussies In Formation,” and urging the electorate to “Grab [Trump] by the polls,” women rallied outside of the Trump Towers in both New York and Chicago, as well as the newly-opened Trump International Hotel in Washington DC.
“For me, coming out is part of the work of getting over the shame—and what would make me a horrible liar would be to stay silent in this moment when the Republican Party has decided to put forward a sexual predator as their candidate for president,” Jodeen Olguín-Tayler, one of the organizers for the New York rally, explained to Newsweek.
“After the [2005 “Access Hollywood”] recording was released, it really sparked specifically women of color, feminist groups, and ally groups to step up,” New York organizer organizer Latchmi Gopal told Revelist.
In Chicago, the “Pussy Grabs Back” event was organized by the feminist activist troop SlutTalk, who explained on the protest’s Facebook event page: “Inspired by the women of New York City, we are grabbing our pussies and taking them to Trump Tower Chicago to form a human pussy chain.”
Smaller, but equally animated protests also took place outside of Trump campaign headquarters in Philadelphia:
Similar protests were slated to take place in Oakland, Denver, and Miami as well.
The October 18 “day of action” was the work of All Of Us 2016, described in a release from the organization as a “new, millennial-led campaign demanding Republican leaders disavow Trump and the politics of hate.”
On the event’s website, organizers write that their goal is to “put forward demands that both influence the outcome of the election–meaning STOP TRUMP–and signal a longer-term vision of gender, racial, and economic liberation for all. We refuse to allow this normalization of rape culture and are stopping it in its tracks.”
“It’s not about lewd language; it’s about promoting and condoning sexual assault,” Cindy Wiesner, one of protest organizers, explained in a statement. “It’s unforgivable. As women of all colors, we reject Donald Trump and the GOP and call on the rest of the nation to reject them too.”