What you need to know about the Pussy Hat

1. The pussyhat (picture above) was created by two women named Jayna Zweiman and Krista Suh. They took up knitting together because Jayna wanted to get involved in a low impact activity following an accident she had suffered.

2. Krista wanted a cap to keep her head warm for the upcoming (first) Women’s March in 2017, and Jayna wanted a way for her voice to be heard since she was unable to physically participate in the march. So, they came up with the pussyhat.

3. They came up with the idea partially in order to respond to the leaked comments by powerful individuals, including, most famously, President Trump’s famous “grab her by the pussy” line. They wanted to destigmatize and reclaim the word pussy.  

4. There was a big push against the pussyhat for the second Women’s March. Reasons for the pushback included the critique that the hats were exclusive because they only represented women with pink pussies: not all women have pink pussies or pussies at all. Women of color and trans woman were not well represented in such a popular trend and a big part of the first Women’s March. Once again, white women were put in the position to lead while marginalized women were put to the sidelines.

5. The Pussyhat Project creators responded to criticism claiming that the hats aren’t meant to resemble literal female anatomy (a white woman’s vulva) and were originally created as a form of inclusivity. The color pink was chosen because that’s the color attributed to femininity and womanhood. Unfortunately, the hat is literally called a pink pussyhat, so they were kind to ask for it. Can’t they get some different colored yarn up in here?

Whether the pussyhat is empowering, geared for white feminists, an example of TERF (Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminism) or just a dumb hat…it’s rubbed some people the wrong way. Maybe we shouldn’t put too much effort into making hats. Indeed, we should put more effort into concrete ways that break down the patriarchy.

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