Donald Trump may unwittingly be a revitalising force for American feminism

OF ALL the things uttered by Donald Trump during the election campaign, none seemed to threaten his chances of victory more than his admission, on tape, that he had grabbed women “by the pussy” without their consent. Yet Republicans—and voters—eventually looked past his attitude towards women. Many Americans, however, remain worried that a Trump presidency heralds a new age of sexism and misogyny. In the days after the election, donations to women’s non-profit groups surged. So did demand for contraception, as women worried that access to birth-control would be curtailed. On January 21st, the day after the inauguration, some 200,000 American men and women are expected to turn up at a march in Washington to protest against regressive policies and demand equal treatment for women—and a lot more besides.

The march grew from two unrelated Facebook posts into the “Women’s March on Washington”, which promises to be the biggest single anti-Trump demonstration yet. It has also spawned sister marches in New York, San Francisco, London and dozens of other cities. But arranging it has proved thorny. It was originally called the “Million Women March”, until organisers were admonished for appropriating the name of the 1997 “Million Woman March”, which focused on African-American women. Others claimed that it too closely resembled the 1963 “March on Washington” led by Martin Luther King Jr. The event’s Facebook page is rife with comments advising white women to “check their privilege”. Some women, put off by all the bickering, decided not to attend.

It is the kind of semantic nitpicking that has made progressive movements unappealing to many Americans. Yet it may have done some good: the march has brought together a broad coalition. Nearly 450 organisations, from the Council on American Islamic Relations to Greenpeace and the Coalition Against Gun Violence, have signed on as official partners. In addition to well-trodden feminist concerns like the wage gap and paid parental leave, the protest platform embraces other causes—immigrant rights, ending police brutality, climate protection—as integral to women’s progress. The organisers argue that matters of social justice and women’s rights go hand in hand. In the comfortable Obama years, many liberal Americans believed feminism’s work was mostly finished. Mr Trump’s ascent banished such complacency. He may be the unifying enemy they need.