Walk into any thrift store in a progressive neighborhood and you might still find one. A bright, neon-pink knitted cap with little points at the top. You know the one. Back in January 2017, those hats were everywhere. They weren't just a fashion choice; they were a literal sea of pink that flooded the National Mall and cities worldwide.
The pink hat women's march wasn’t just a singular event in D.C. It was a global phenomenon. But honestly? Looking back a few years later, the legacy of that specific headwear is way more complicated than we thought at the time. It started as a clever DIY project and turned into a massive symbol of resistance, but it also became a lightning rod for some pretty intense criticism about who exactly the feminist movement was for.
The Viral Origin of the Pussyhat Project
It’s easy to forget how fast this happened. Krista Suh and Jayna Zweiman, two screenwriters and friends in Los Angeles, just wanted a way for people who couldn’t attend the march to feel connected. They teamed up with Kat Coyle, who owned a local yarn shop called The Little Knittery. They put a pattern online. That was it.
The idea was basically a middle finger to the "grab them by the..." comments made by Donald Trump during the 2016 campaign. By reclaiming the word and turning it into something crafty and domestic, they tapped into something huge. People weren't just buying hats; they were knitting them on planes, in coffee shops, and at kitchen tables.
It was tactile. It was personal.
By the time January 21, 2017, rolled around, the "Pussyhat Project" had gone nuclear. Experts estimated that over 470,000 people showed up in Washington D.C. alone. If you look at the aerial photos, it looks like a giant pink thumbprint on the city. It was probably the largest single-day protest in U.S. history. But the "pussyhat" itself started to carry a weight the founders maybe didn't anticipate.
Why the Pink Hat Women's March Faced Backlash
You've probably heard the term "white feminism." For many, the pink hat women's march became the poster child for it.
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The criticism didn't take long to surface. Activists like Angela Peoples were famously photographed at the march holding a sign that read, "White Women Voted for Trump," while surrounded by women in pink hats. It was a gut-punch moment. It forced a lot of people to realize that a pink hat, while visible, didn't necessarily represent the experiences of Black, Brown, or trans women.
The pink color itself was a sticking point. Critics argued it centered on a very specific, cisgendered view of womanhood. Not every woman has those "parts." Not every woman identifies with that specific shade of bubblegum pink.
Actually, some organizers of subsequent marches started discouraging the hats as early as 2018. They wanted to move away from symbols that might feel exclusionary to the LGBTQ+ community or women of color. It's a classic example of how a symbol can be both a unifying force and a polarizing one at the exact same time. It’s messy. Real history usually is.
The Problem with "Craftivism"
There is also the "craftivism" angle. Some veteran organizers felt the hats were a distraction. While thousands of women were busy purling and knitting, others were worried about the actual policy work. Does a hat change a vote? Probably not. Does it build a sustained political infrastructure? That’s debatable.
However, you can't deny the psychological impact. For a lot of people, especially those who had never been to a protest before, that hat was a "gateway drug" to activism. It gave them a sense of belonging in a moment where they felt incredibly isolated.
The Logistics of a Global Protest
Organizing the pink hat women's march was a nightmare of permits and port-a-potties. It wasn't just D.C. There were sister marches in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, and even places like Antarctica. Yeah, literally. Researchers at the Neumayer-Station III held a small march.
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In D.C., the sheer volume of people broke the cell towers. You couldn't send a text. You couldn't find your friends. You just had to drift with the pink tide.
- The D.C. Metro recorded 1,001,613 trips that Saturday.
- It was the second-busiest day in the system's history.
- The only day busier? The 2009 inauguration of Barack Obama.
This wasn't just a brunch crowd with signs. It was a massive logistical feat managed by a diverse group of co-chairs including Tamika Mallory, Cassady Fendlay, Carmen Perez, and Linda Sarsour. These women brought very different backgrounds to the table, which—predictably—led to some internal friction later on regarding the direction of the Women's March organization.
Where is the Movement Now?
The organization itself, Women’s March Inc., went through some really public growing pains. There were allegations of anti-Semitism against some of the original leaders, which led to a splintering of the movement. Local chapters started distancing themselves from the national brand.
But if you look past the drama of the boardrooms, the impact of the pink hat women's march is still visible in the data. Look at the 2018 midterms. A record number of women ran for office. A record number won. You can draw a pretty straight line from the energy of those marches to the "Blue Wave" that followed.
The hats mostly live in boxes now. Or museums. The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History actually collected several of them for their permanent collection. They are artifacts of a specific moment in American political tension.
Actionable Insights for Modern Activism
If you're looking to get involved in advocacy today, the pink hat women's march offers some pretty vital lessons. It’s not just about showing up once; it’s about what happens on Day 2.
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1. Symbols need to be inclusive from the start. If you’re creating a visual for a movement, ask yourself who is being left out by your choice of color, language, or imagery. Radical inclusivity isn't a "nice to have"—it's a requirement for longevity.
2. Focus on "The Weave," not just the "The Event." A march is a moment. A movement is a long-term commitment. Use the energy of a large gathering to funnel people into local, boring, but essential work like school board meetings and local elections.
3. Digital mobilization is a double-edged sword. The internet made the pink hats go viral, but it also made the internal conflicts of the organization public and permanent. Manage your digital footprint with the understanding that the internet never forgets a misstep.
4. Diversify your leadership early. Don't wait for a crisis to bring diverse voices to the table. The friction in the Women's March leadership could have been mitigated if intersectionality had been baked into the DNA from the first planning meeting in that Facebook group.
The pink hat women's march was a massive, flawed, beautiful, and chaotic explosion of civic engagement. Whether you loved the hats or hated them, they changed the way we think about mass protest in the 21st century. It proved that you can start a global movement with a ball of yarn and a lot of frustration. Just make sure you know what you're going to do once the knitting is finished.