American feminism in the age of Trump

It was supposed to be the political year of the woman, when Hillary Clinton would shatter the highest, hardest and most important glass ceiling. She was tremendously-qualified for the U.S. presidency, experienced, well-funded and organized.

Her opponent, Donald J. Trump, was not.

It seemed that with every misogynist, abusive statement he made about women, and with every policy statement he announced that would affect them, he was losing the women's vote.

The Democratic Party was convinced it was about to ride a feminist wave all the way to the White House. But as we know, women were part of the reason why Donald Trump was elected President. 53% of white women who went to the polls, voted for him.

This week, millions will celebrate Trump's inauguration as U.S. President. Millions more will protest against him, and against the agenda of the new Republican administration.

The Women's March on Washington is expected to be one of the largest demonstrations in the city's history. It is estimated that as many as 200-thousand will attend. Solidarity marches are planned not just across the U.S., but around the world, including Canada.

In anticipation of that event, we invited four women to talk about the current state of the American feminist movement, and the road ahead.

Letty Cottin Pogrebin is the founding editor of Ms. magazine and the co-founder of both the Ms. Foundation for Women and the National Women's Political Caucus. She suggests that women wondering what to do to counter Trump's victory visit https://www.flippable.org/ and https://www.indivisibleguide.com/.

Susan Chira is an author and a journalist. She served as the assistant managing editor for news at The New York Times for five years. In September, she left that role to become senior correspondent for gender for the paper. She wrote about what Trump's victory means for the future of American feminism in a piece for The New York Times.

LeRhonda — or Rhon — Manigault-Bryant is Associate Dean and Associate Professor of Africana Studies at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. After the election, she wrote an open letter to white liberal feminists.

Moira Weigel is a PhD candidate at Yale University. She was a guest on The Sunday Edition in July, talking about women and the biological clock. This is one of the topics in her book Labor of Love, a feminist history of dating. 

Click the button above to hear the panel.