Who Made the Women’s March?

Abstract

This chapter examines the organizational tributaries that produced a tidal wave of support for the Women’s March on Washington. Ostensibly the result of a new eponymous organization, the 2017 Women’s March actually represented the sustained work of many well-established activist organizations and interest groups that spread the word and mobilized a diverse array of both new and experienced participants. This chapter argues that the Women’s March itself is an umbrella coalition rather than a singular organization. This chapter explains how the Women’s March evolved from a mostly white, elite liberal feminist movement to a more intersectional movement through various framing techniques and coalition-building. This chapter concludes with a discussion of the tactical and strategic effects of the Women’s March after the first year of the Trump administration, as well as its position in the overall landscape of social movements in the United States.