UW Political Science PhD candidate Emily Kalah Gade co-authored an article addressing the connection between the issue of sexual violence and the anti-Trump protests, namely the Women’s March.
The article addresses critiques of the Women’s March, the symbolism of the Pussy Hats, and rape culture in the United States. Gade and her co-author note:
“Even if he never ‘actually’ grabbed someone inappropriately, the new President engages in acts of symbolic sexual violence, and in doing so discounts the experiences of survivors of sexual violence.”
The Women’s March was a response to this, they argue. “This was far from a feel-good spectacle – it was, at least in part, a steely and unflinching response to sexual violence.”
Gade co-wrote the article for The Huffington Post with University of Washington Sociology PhD candidate Sarah Diefendorf. The article titled “Despite Pussy Hats, Discussion of Sexual Violence is Largely Absent Around Trump” was published on The Huffington Post website on February 27, 2017.