20 January, 2018 marked the second annual Women’s March. Women from all over the United States, as well as from other countries including Australia, Canada, and Germany, took to the streets protesting gender inequality, LGBTI rights, and other important, intersecting issues.

However, some trans people and allies attending the March in Vancouver were made to feel incredibly uncomfortable by one transmisogynistic sign.



Facebook user Meaghan Jackson-Doucet uploaded the photo to Facebook during the 20 January march.

The post

The photo features an older woman in a pink pussy hat, holding a sign that says ‘Trans women are men. The truth is not hate. Don’t believe the hype. Trans ideology is misogyny and homophobic. Woman is not a “feeling,” a costume, or a performance of a stereotype. Woman is a biological reality! There is no ethical or moral duty to lie to soothe a male ego.’

‘First I saw a man holding his children and openly weeping and my heart was hopeful,’ Jackson-Doucet wrote. ‘Then these hateful women stood in front of us and booed the entire time a trans sex worker was speaking. We still have a lot of work to do.’

‘I shared this because I am a parent to a super rad kid who identifies as trans. And research shows that if we just let kids be kids and not make a big deal about their gender, our kiddo will live a *much* happier life. They are free to be who they are.’

‘I saw this woman at the March today and I cried. Yelling at her (like I wanted to) wouldn’t have changed her beliefs. She was there to find a fight. It would have only exposed the kids surrounding us to an ugliness they don’t need to learn about quite yet.’

‘I shared this because we need to shine a light on all of our ugly dark bits in order to overcome. Like it or not, this woman EXISTS. And she’s MAD. Really, REALLY MAD. So mad, she came to a protest about equal rights to put down other humans. To put down people like my kid.’

‘So I’m shining a light on her, and people like her. I see you. My child sees you.’

‘Can we all please just try to figure out how we can all live together on this planet peacefully, and stop trying to build ourselves up by putting others down.’

Jackson-Doucet’s post went viral, being shared almost 2,000 times and with over a million reactions.

Reactions

Trans people and allies from all over the world have expressed outrage at this woman’s bigoted sign, as well as support for all trans and non-binary people.

imagine going to women’s march just to be an asshole pic.twitter.com/Ha2N0RYLwb — Melissa Joan Hart the Shequel (@PollyLaBruja) January 21, 2018

Appalled at the transphobia on display at some women’s marches yesterday & so gonna take this opportunity to state that the Bi Arts Festival supports transgender, genderfluid, genderqueer & non-binary folks as artists and as audience members. #hatehasnoplace #biartsfestival — Bi Arts Festival (@biartsfestival) January 21, 2018

In a nutshell, this is the white vagina feminism that predictably still dominates women’s marches one year later since the massive one I went to in DC in 2017 pic.twitter.com/PvZpuuk9To — ☭CommieMommyKitchen☭ (@commiegwen) January 21, 2018

Transphobia is always around us, even when we have the Women’s March,some bring hate along w/ them.

Trans Women are Women

Support lovely women with or without “traditional binary standards”, va*ina or none.

Support her, the one who has a great mind and a heart of gold!! — pea boy (@ghostwasabi) January 21, 2018

I know I’m going to get hate back for saying this, but; I have no hate for the Women’s March, I think it’s a great thing, I just wish there was less transphobia involved.#WomensMarch2018 #sistersnotcisters — Amy Walker (@Amazing_Amy_W) January 21, 2018

the amount if transphobia at the women’s march :/// — 🐙✨ (@sparklesthor) January 21, 2018

I hate the fact that the Women’s March is inevitably rife with exclusion and transphobia. The future is not female. The future is intersectional. The future is accessible. Don’t gender the fucking future. — Lisa Elizabeth (@LisaElizabethy) January 21, 2018