By Coral Nafziger

“‘Pussy’ is a derogatory term for female genitalia. We chose this loaded word for our project because we want to reclaim the term as a means of empowerment,” reads the mission statement of The Pussyhat Project.

Launched on Thanksgiving, The Pussyhat Project says they want to put pink hats on the participants of the Washington D.C. Women’s March on Jan. 21. According to the mission statement, “If everyone at the march wears a pink hat, the crowd will be a sea of pink, showing that we stand together, united.”

The project calls for people who are not attending the march in Washington D.C. to create hats to send to those who are.

In addition to making hats for the Washington D.C. march, some people are making hats for themselves and friends regardless of where they are. Many will wear their hats to a “sister march” — according to womensmarch.com, there are 616 Women’s Marches planned for Jan. 21.

SCC Early Childhood Education student, Amelia Conlon says that her mom and a couple of friends are getting together to make pink hats to wear at Seattle’s sister march, the Womxn’s March on Seattle.

Gillian Reese, member of SCC’s Feminist United Club and sociology student says she will not march in the Womxn’s March on Seattle because, although she does not support Trump, she also disagrees with a lot of the march’s politics. According to Reese, it will be a “stereotypical white feminist” event.

According to a Jan.10 article in the Seattle Times, pink yarn is picked through or sold out at several stores in Seattle.

Why Pink Hats?

On pussyhatproject.com, the reasoning behind the desire to create “a sea of pink,” is explained in several parts:

1. Pink was chosen because it is traditionally a feminine color, and often represents traits that are viewed as weak. The Pussyhat Project wants their hats to show that femininity is strong.

2. This project relies on crafting, which, like the color pink, is often considered feminine and not taken seriously.

3. The Pussyhat Project provides a template for a hat that can be knit or crocheted with beginning skill level, using easy-to-find resources. People can create any pink hat they want, but with this basic design, these hats are highly accessible.