In addition to carrying banners, posters and wearing March-branded t-shirts, several women wore pink knitted “pussy hats”. The Pussyhat Project was initiated by two American women, with the stated aim to
“Provide the people of the Women’s March on Washington D.C. a means to make a unique collective visual statement which will help activists be better heard”.
The hats were achievable for any level of knitter – a simple rectangle, joined at the sides - and were also intended as a practical way of keeping warm on the day of the protest. Corners form peaks that resemble cat ears when worn: a direct reference to Donald Trump’s infamous “grab them by the pussy” quote.
The donor/knitter of the hat we collected, Sue Elliott, was one of over a thousand women, men and children who marched from the U.S. Consulate to Myers Park, where Jacinda Ardern, Alison Mau, Tracey Barnett, Dr Pani Farvid, and Lizzie Marvelly spoke to the crowd. On her reasons for joining, Sue said:
“I marched, of course; because who wouldn't. Being a young woman in the 1970s we were constantly trying to claim our rights and the thought that these could be eroded at a whim is shocking”.
She knitted a hat for herself and one for a friend, and even took more knitting to work on while listening to the speakers.
The Pussyhat Project fulfilled its goal of widespread recognition, but reception has been divided. Because of sheer scale of the marches, criticism has been leveled that the sense of “togetherness” came at the expense of the marginalised.
To some, the pussy hat has become a symbol of tokenistic mainstream feminism, which typically focuses on the needs of white, cisgender women, and does not address the communities who are most at risk. To others, the hats were a way of celebrating a craft often brushed off as “women’s work”, and spoke of the time and effort invested in the march before it had begun.
Image (right): Sue Elliott wearing her Pussy Hat and knitting while watching speakers at the Women's March, 21 January 2017. Photograph by Theresa Peter, All Rights Reserved.