Gender liberation march on Washington DC demands bodily autonomy
Washington, D.C. – On Saturday, September 14, hundreds of activists from across the country gathered at Union Station lawn for the Gender Liberation March. The action brought into coalition local organizations, East coast regional groups, and national forces from the queer liberation, reproductive justice, feminist and Black liberation movements.
Beginning at noon, the primary organizers of the march and some important local Washington organizations addressed the crowd.
“Fuck Project 2025!” said Raquel Willis, a Gender Liberation Movement organizer from Georgia. “They want to erase all discussions of queerness and trans-ness in public life. They want the government to track abortions and monitor our reproductive health. They want to criminalize us for making decisions about our bodies and for supporting each other and for defending our freedoms, just like we’re about to do today.”
Organizers of the march further emphasized that the alliance between the movements for women's rights, reproductive justice and queer liberation is critical in building a united front of resistance. This alliance, they said, is what it will take to challenge repression and legal attacks on gender oppressed folks, regardless of who wins the upcoming presidential election.
Organizer NeeNee Taylor with the D.C. Black liberation organization Harriet’s Wildest Dreams also spoke on the intersection of reproductive justice and the autonomy of Black bodies.
“I’m here to welcome y’all as a Black woman,” Taylor said. “As someone who deserves bodily autonomy, as someone who chose to have an abortion—so many around the country do not have that choice y’all—we must hold the line!”
At one o'clock, the march took to the streets from Union Station and marched towards the U.S Supreme Court holding signs that read “Our Bodies, Our Choices, Our Genders, Our Futures” and “Abortion is Healthcare.” Chants of “When trans rights are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!” and “If we don’t get no justice, then they don’t get no peace!” filled the streets of downtown D.C. as the demonstrators took the roadway. They stopped in front of the Supreme Court’s steps to acknowledge the special threat the undemocratic and reactionary court has presented to gender liberation.
The protest then moved to the front of the Heritage Foundation offices, the far-right think tank that has engineered right-wing grand strategy since the Reagan Administration, including Project 2025. After some chanting, organizers blared loud Dancehall music at the building’s front facing windows, leading to an impromptu dance in front of the building.
The march concluded with more speakers, including movement veteran Miss Major, who spoke on the importance of uplifting the movement and continuing to grow the coalition into a national network of resistance against further attacks on women and LGBTQ people.