On the morning of January 21st 2017, I got the opportunity to travel to Washington D.C and march with over half a million people of all ethnicities and religions backgrounds. Marches not only took place in Washington, D.C., but in many other destinations. There were in all 673 sister marches including cities such as: Cleveland, Lansing, Boston, Chicago, New York City, and Los Angeles. On this day, millions of people marched together to show solidarity and remind our country to protect and improve the rights of all women.
There we stood, women and men of all ages, chanting together for hours before the actual march began. We were squeezed in tight; as I glanced to the left then to the right, I saw thousands of hand-knitted pink hats and signs that allowed the participants’ creativity and feelings to spark about the newly inaugurated president. A sign, that is still embedded in my mind, was held by a young girl and it read: “This nasty woman is … the future president of the United States.” This sign, along with the many others I saw used the word “nasty” as a term of endearment. After reading that sign, I was once again reminded that I was surrounded by thousands of resilient, beautiful, and phenomenal women. I had never felt that empowered in my life.
Referring to yourself as “nasty” became socially acceptable during the night of the third and concluding presidential debate. Donald Trump told American voters that no one has more respect for women than he does. However, less than one hour later Trump muttered into the microphone “such a nasty woman”, interrupting Hillary Clinton during her response about social security. Jaws dropped as we watched her not even flinch in response to his hate-filled insult. As for the women watching across America, our responses lead to a raging epidemic; we fought back. The replies on social media platforms were almost instantaneous. Women were calling out for issues such as racial equality, LGBTQ rights, reproductive health care, and others. The term “nasty” no longer meant highly unpleasant, or physically nauseating; In fact, it was transformed to be worn as a badge of honor. By the next day, you would think that Trump meant it as a compliment. Quite frankly, if Clinton was nasty, women across the nation wanted to be nasty too. Subsequently, I thought to myself: who are the nasty women of Kent State? I became curious about the unique identities and aspirations of the “nasty women” attending this great institution. So, I went seeking for answers.
“This nasty woman is inspired by the female leads of Star Wars and is going to be the future CFO of Michael Kors” -Soraiya Cockings, Freshman, Fashion Merchandising
“This nasty woman is forever ascending” -Kristian James, Junior, Fashion Merchandising
“This nasty woman is highly favored” -Aaliyah Russell, Junior, Interior Design
“This Nasty Woman is a future nurse” -Morgan Weaver, Freshman, Nursing
“This nasty woman is not going to be put into any boxes!” -Nina Gerrick, Sophomore, Applied Engineering
“This nasty woman is unapologetically black” -Taylor Ivey, Freshman, Fashion Merchandising
“This nasty woman is proud of her pussy” -Julie Stuck, Freshman, Fashion Merchandising
“This nasty woman is finding herself” -Briana Glasgow, Freshman, Biology/ Pre-Dental
“This nasty woman is a child of God, and a future school psychologist” -Sydney Green, Sophomore, Psychology
“This Nasty woman is trying not to give up on herself “ -Jordan Bigelow, Freshman, Fashion Merchandising/ Design
“This nasty woman is going to graduate having visited 5 countries and 5 states and begin her career as a sustainable fashion designer” -Imani Johnson, Freshman, Fashion Design
“This nasty woman is going to graduate top of her class and have my own self established business so I won’t have to answer to nobody!” -Esperanza Bush, Freshman, Psychology
As for me,
This nasty woman is reminding herself every day that she has the potential to make great things happen.
By: Tyshaia Earnest