On Saturday January 20, 2018, America witnessed its second Women’s March: A day celebrated all around the world in which all members of society come together to foster the ideals of feminism, protest a leader participants deem unfit to hold the presidential office, and advocate policies regarding human rights and other social justice issues. The first women’s march that followed the election of President Trump was the largest single-day protest in United States history.

Ava Bachelder and Chloe Tilton, students at San Juan Hills High School, took part in the march organized in Los Angeles, California.

“To me, the women’s march signifies widespread solidarity in current social issues while at the same time representing the history of oppression and years of struggle that have brought us to where we are today,” said Bachelder.

Public figures also attended and spoke at the march.

“We ran into Lilly Singh during the march, but also listened to speeches from public figures including Viola Davis and Natalie Portman as well as the mayor if LA, Eric Garcetti,” said Tilton.

Some believe that the march is limited to the attendance of women only. However, this day of organized protest is for everyone.

“I believe the Women’s March is an event that is open to and beneficial for anyone to participate in. Issues of inequality affect every individual and it is important for us to come together as a community to have these conversations,” said Bachelder.

The Young Democrats Club of San Juan Hills High School also took part in the social justice festivities by attending the march with thirty of their members. Luciana Benzan went with the club and explained that, “It was really great to go with the Young Democrats Club because last year I only went with my sister to the march, but this year I got to be apart of something I deeply care about with friend from school which was both really special and created a strong feeling of unification,” said Benzan.

Some feel that the attendance of male allies at the marches is a crucial factor. Without their support for the feminist cause, there cannot and will not be positive change made.

“When the male marchers join into the chanting with phrases such as ‘her body her choice,’ it instills a lot of hope and empowerment in me for the future to see firsthand how society is shifting and our allies are increasing,” said Bachelder.

There is a lot of confusion as to what feminism means and who feminists are. Some hold the perspective that these individuals that call themselves feminists aim solely to put women ahead of men in society. However, this is not the truth. The online Webster-Merriam dictionary definition of feminism is “the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes.”

“Feminism to me is about acknowledging the inequalities between men and women and the difficulties that women face, and by recognizing these injustices as a threat to not only women but to all of society, there is an opportunity for change,” said Tilton.