The Women's March will do an encore this year with anniversary protests but likely missing will be the–uh–distinctive pink knitted hats meant to evoke a part of the female anatomy.
Marchers are being asked to leave their signature pink hats at home. But before you commend the return to decorum you might think implied by this, here is a report on the reasoning behind it:
The sentiment that the pink pussyhat excludes and is offensive to transgender women and gender nonbinary people who don't have typical female genitalia and to women of color because their genitals are more likely to be brown than pink.
"I personally won’t wear one because if it hurts even a few people's feelings, then I don't feel like it’s unifying," said Phoebe Hopps, founder and president of Women's March Michigan and organizer of anniversary marches Jan. 21 in Lansing and Marquette.
Popularizes of the P-hat suggest that permanently losing the trade-mark headgear may be too radical a solution:
The color pink was chosen "because pink is associated with femininity," the Pussyhat Project posted on its website. "We did not choose the color pink as a representation of some people’s anatomy. Anyone who supports women’s rights is welcome to wear a Pussyhat. It does not matter if you have a vulva or what color your vulva may be. If a participant wants to create a Pussyhat that reflects the color of her vulva, we support her choice."
We've come to this.
The anniversary events will be aimed at registering more women to vote and electing more progressive women to office. Arguably, it's easier to do that if you aren't wearing an anatomically correct hat.