Gender/Sexuality/Identity

On the first of June, Code Pink showed up outside the Lush Cosmetics stores on M st in Georgetown around the corner from the Embassy of Venezuala. They were there to demand that Lush shut down their two stores in Saudi Arabia, where women are tortured and imprisoned for protesting male guardianship laws and other misogynist Saudi oppression.These laws have been called gender apartheid.

HD Video-Code Pink protests at Lush's Georgetown store 1 min 15 sec

On March 14, 2019, murdered Brazilian human rights activists and Rio de Janeiro city council member Marielle Franco was remembered with with a vigil at the White House. Protesters condemned Brazil's fascist President Bolsonaro who among many other crimes once gave awards to the two military policemen who have been charged with Marielle's murder. Protesters also displayed copies of a street sign remembering her that pro-Bolsonaro politicians have been photographed holding broken pieces of while threatening to break other opponents of facism and white supremacy.

Video: Protesters call out Brazil's far-right for assasinating Marielle and using her murder to threaten others 4 min 11 sec

On the 19th of January, the Women's March totally overflowed their Freedom Plaza rally site, filling that area plus a short march route past Trump Hotel and around a few blocks almost continuously. The counterprotesting "march for all women" was a tiny failure by comparison. Several women in Handmaid's Tale uniforms made them look like fools.

Video-the scene around Trump Hotel 1 min 23 sec

Dec 17th was the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers. In DC, the Decrim Carnival 3 was held in the Reeves Center on 14th st. Music and dancers performing dances similar to what they would do onstage (but fully dressed) alternated with speakers on the human cost of keeping sex work illegal. Physical assaults by violent men posing as customers go unpunished because sex workers know the police cannot be trusted and filing a report simply creates a second round of risk, this time from the cops.

Video-two dance performances and a speaker on why sex workers can't report assaults to the cops 4 min 13 sec