Thousands of women are knitting pink 'pussyhats' to protest Donald Trump's inauguration

By David Boddiger  |  January 14, 2017 | 8:49pm
Latest

Two Los Angeles women started a knitting movement after they put out a call on social media to blanket the National Mall with “a sea of pink hats” during the January 21 Women’s March on Washington, D.C, a major protest planned for after Donald Trump’s inauguration.

Dubbed the “Pussyhat Project,” organizers Krista Suh and Jayna Zweiman aimed to rally avid knitters around the world to make 1.17 million “Pussyhats”–a jab at Trump’s infamous 2005 “Grab them by the pussy” comments about sexual assault.

“Today we want to write a bit about what ‘Spreading the Word’ can look like because all of us, whether we are knitters/crocheters/sewers, marchers, both or neither, can contribute immensely to making this happen,” organizers wrote on their Pussyhat Project blog. “Anytime you think, ‘The organizers of the Pussyhat Project should really….’ you are probably right!”

The response so far has been overwhelming, with thousands of women sharing photos of their own pussyhats across social media.

A photo posted by Susanne Sommer (@sosuknits) on Jan 12, 2017 at 7:38pm PST

Celebrities like Krysten Ritter (of Jessica Jones fame) shared her pussyhat:

@p_ssyhatproject one down!!! Who’s making Pussy Hats for the Women’s March on Washington! #janurary21 (and if you can’t make it to Washington- there are solidarity marches all over the country!) #womensmarchonwashington @thelittleknittery
A photo posted by Krysten Ritter (@therealkrystenritter) on Jan 8, 2017 at 12:33pm PST

As did MTV News’ Ana Marie Cox:

Organizers chose the goal of making 1.17 million pussyhats because that’s apparently how many people can fit on the Mall.

But you don’t have to attend next Saturday’s march to join the growing movement, because the Pussyhat Project outlines 17 different questions and tips to help you find out how to help. (You can read all about those here.)

According to Berkelyside, Suh, a screenwriter, and Zweiman, an architect–who both supported Hillary Clinton’s campaign–were so devastated by Trump’s presidential victory last November that they sought solace at their local yarn store in California, The Little Knittery, where they hatched the plan with design help from store owner Kat Coyle.

“We are definitely making a dent,” Zweiman told Berkelyside. “We know we have thousands and thousands but we don’t know how many thousands.”

 
Join the discussion...