Chanting “This Pussy Votes” and “Love Trumps Hate,” at least 150 jubilant protesters gathered outside Chicago’s Trump Tower on Tuesday, Oct. 18, joining a national movement of women clapping back against the Republican presidential candidate who has been described as a “walking trigger warning.”
We here at Rebellious like to call him a vengeful Oompa Loompa.
After meeting at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday at Wabash and Wacker, protesters marched across the Chicago River to stand just across from Trump Tower with pussy-powered chants and signs that made many passers-by do double-takes. A visitor from Argentina who stumbled across the protest with her husband stopped to ask me what “pussy” means. After a lot of gesturing, we landed on “lady parts.” For those of you wondering, the corresponding term in Argentina is “concha.”
Chicago police put the number of protesters at about 150, though organizers say the event was at least 200 strong.
The number everyone agreed on was seven, the number of tragic counter-protesters across the street whose giant signs were so offensive I’m not even going to dignify them by publishing what they said. Oh, sad Trump supporters. I don’t believe in calling anyone crazy, but if I did, I’d say y’all CRAY.
The original intention was to form a “human pussy chain” around Trump Tower, but organizer Alicia Swiz said those plans were thwarted by barricades put up outside the building. She said the protest came together organically after she put out a call on Facebook just five days ago after being inspired by similar actions in New York.
“It’s important that you come out and be visible and use your voice,” Swiz said. “It’s especially important for women, and people of color and disenfranchised people who have been collectively silenced by the patriarchy…Donald Trump exploits that, he exploits that power, he exploits his white male privilege and uses it for evil.”
Asked about language at the protest that made some early morning commuters blush – including signs that read “Hands Off My Cuntry” and chants of “My neck, my back, my pussy will grab back” – Swiz said that “part of shifting the narrative means reclaiming that language and taking the power out of it.”
I’m a former mainstream media reporter, and one of the highlights of the day for me was overhearing reporters for the major news outlets discussing how in the world they were going to cover an event with “pussy” splashed all over it. I can’t wait to see what they come up with.
To track coverage of the event on social media, look for #PussyGrabsBack and #PussyGrabsBackChicago.