I marched in the Women’s March in Washington, DC. I was part of the more than one million  people who marched around the world on Saturday.  That March that left me speechless and exhausted on Saturday, and full of emotion and gratitude that I had been a part of it on Sunday.

The March that wasn’t about  protesting or being a sore loser, but instead being a citizen concerned about the agenda of  the new administration.

I have been told the march is stupid, that the President says America belongs to the people and I shouldn’t be protesting; that because the President is calling for unity, I am being divisive by disagreeing with him and voicing that disagreement. That it is only people not in agreement with the President who are causing a divide…but you’ll still pray for me.

I marched because I watched the man who is now President mock a disabled man on television- and who is trying to gaslight me into thinking I didn’t see him do it.  A man who has never apologized for making fun of someone.

I marched because I heard the man who is now President boast about “grabbing women by the pussy” – that is sexual assault.

I marched because too many people are more upset that women have taken back the word pussy than they are that the man who is now President boasted about grabbing women by the pussy, and dismissed it as  “locker room talk.”

I marched because the man who is now President deflects from real issues by tweeting nonsense and snark every time he gets his feelings hurt.

I marched because the man who is now President actually wants us to believe in “alternative facts”.  Alternative facts, my friends, are LIES.

I marched because calling for unity as you’re crowing that walls will be built and whole groups of people may be forced to register, is lip service, and not a true call for unity.

I marched because the man who is now President does not believe in science, does not believe in Climate Change.

I marched because the man who is now President brags more about Russia, where the march wasn’t even legal, than he does his own country.

I marched because the man who is now President questioned the legitimacy of the previous President for years, yet refuses to acknowledge that Russia attempted to influence our election.

I marched because I question the motivations of the people the man who is now President is appointing.

I marched because Black Lives Matter.

I marched because I don’t believe that immigrants and LBGTQ people are second class citizens.

I marched because the last time people were registered in large measure, millions of people died and the  United States put our own people in camps.  I refuse to allow that to happen again.

I’ve read that  by marching, we’ve destroyed everything that women have worked for. That we are marching to be noticed, and not for women’s rights.  That we’re vulgar, nasty, two-faced bigots because we use the President’s words to criticize him.

I marched because too many other women are missing the point.

I marched because I believe my doctors and I are best qualified to decide what happens to my body.

I marched because accessible and affordable healthcare are women’s rights, and human rights.  So, yes, women are concerned when our government wants to defund Planned Parenthood- which provides low cost health care to innumerable women each year.  For women who live in areas where traditional medical care is not easily accessible, Planned Parenthood may be their only real option.

I marched because when the new 115th Congress began working on Day 1 to repeal the Affordable Care Act, they did so with no plan to replace it.  Despite me being employed full time, I am not eligible for insurance through my employer- the ACA is the best place for me to see Healthcare options and get coverage. And now I’m very concerned what happens if I get sick, or get into an accident.  This is for me, this is for the MILLIONS who will be uninsured with the repeal of the ACA.  When uninsured people get a little sick, going to the doctor isn’t always financially feasible. And sometimes that “little sickness” turns into a bigger, more expensive illness. And with no insurance, everyone else bears the burden of the cost.

Of course, we want to criticize Trump for his words.

“I moved on her like a bitch, but I couldn’t get there. And she was married.”

“I did try and fuck her. She was married.”

“Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.”

“Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything.”

We tell our children their bodies are their own and no one has the right to touch them without their consent, then we elect a man who brags about it. That’s is what is vulgar about this.

The ultimate definition of privilege is thinking a problem doesn’t exist because it doesn’t affect you.  This isn’t wanting attention, this is wanting the status to be quo for everyone regardless of gender, geography, or economics when it comes to body autonomy and healthcare.

I marched because the only way I could have more privilege is if I were male, and it’s my duty to work to help others have the same opportunities and privilege I do.

I marched because I’m a citizen of this country, and I have the right to make my voice heard.  I marched because the current administration is pushing an agenda at odds with my beliefs, and I can sit down and watch it happen, or I can stand up and say “this is not OK”.  It’s easy to be complacent. It’s right to speak out.

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I’ve read the comments where you call marchers “feminazis” who are  a disgrace to intelligent women.

Gloria Steinem, a Phi Beta Kappa graduate from Smith College; a Doctorate of Human Justice from Simmons College.  She’s a feminist, sure, but she’s not unintelligent.She spoke and inspired at the Women’s March in DC.

Cecile Richards, a graduate of Brown University. A Feminist, but not unintelligent.

Van Jones, who spoke so eloquently of love- a Feminist, and not unintelligent.

Michael Moore, brilliant at inspiring people to action. A Feminist, and not unintelligent. He gave us concrete steps to take to continue to make our voices heard.

Angela Davis, multiple degrees, most definitely a Feminist, and not unintelligent.

Sophie Cruz, only six years old and a far more eloquent speaker than most people I know.  A young  Feminist, indeed. But not unintelligent.

All of these speakers and more gave positive, inspiring speeches to the crowds. Crowds that stretched from 3rd to 17th along Independence and down side streets, swelling far further than anticipated in DC and around the world.

I know artists, attorneys, nannies, teachers, writers, doctors, homemakers, executives, grant writers, lobbyists,  office workers, mothers, fathers, grandmothers, friends, partners,  spouses, and single people who marched in different cities all over the US.  All Feminists. All intelligent people.  All exercising their rights, even their duties as concerned citizens.  And there is  absolutely no disgrace in that.