The Women's March Impact on Social Media and Rhetoric

Wendy Hines created an event, the Women's March on Lincoln, that she imagined wouldn't get much attention. She created the event to go along with the Women's March on Washington that was having around 670 affiliate marches across the country. These events gained popularity as they were created to promote unity and equal rights for all in light of our newly elected President.

There were signs, stickers and outspoken individuals that all contributed to the events success. Marchers shared their stories across the country with the hashtag #WomensMarch. Photos of signs, videos of chants, and news stories about how it's more then just a march can be found in these results.

The signs used in the march demonstrate how rhetoric was used to effectively get their message across. Most of the signs referenced some sort of cat call, like one that said "Not this pussy" in reference to Trumps pussy grabbing comment. Other signs were made to look similar to something historical, like one poster that was made to look like the "Don't Tread on Me" flag.

The march in Lincoln brought in around 3,000-4,000 marchers that started in front of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's student union and then ended on the capital steps. However, not all who were present were there in support of the women's march.

Many members of Phi Gamma Delta held President Trump flags off of their balcony in counter protest. Although their statement is that they were not in protest of the march, members of the march were reportedly harassed by a few members of the fraternity.

Their were reports of them rating women that walked by, shouts of profanity, and chants of "no means yes" of their neighboring fraternity Alpha Tau Omega. These reports caused outrage on social media which led to a Title IX investigation of the fraternities involved.

The Women's March on Lincoln had a huge impact in the community and on social media. Sure, there were marches who chanted about equality, but the majority of signs and chants used in the march used rhetoric to get their argument across.

This was a successful use of rhetoric as it brought light and attention to the problems women have faced and are going to face during the Trump presidency. It'll be interesting to see how rhetoric is used in the future as these marches and protest continue.

Photo Credit: Kelly Kuwitzky
References: http://journalstar.com/news/local/thousands-show-up-to-support-women-s-march-on-lincoln/article_2e87f297-d977-504f-b240-0f9946a37c68.html