This Galentine's Day...

By Abby Born

So what is Galentine’s Day? …well it’s only the best day of the year!

Leslie Knope introduces Galentine’s Day on the television show Parks and Recreation as the day before Valentine’s Day, February 13th, a day to celebrate your love for your gal pals and also your love for yourself (see Parks and Recreation, Season 2, Episode 16 –available on Netflix- for more details). I enjoyed a beautiful Galentine’s Day last year with my best girl friends. We took a trip to the Milwaukee Art Museum, enjoyed some delicious Mexican food, had a slumber party in a fancy hotel room, and of course, indulged in plenty of wine and chocolate. That was back when my main concerns were my classes and what flavor of ice cream I should order from room service.
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This year, however, the political climate in the United States has changed dramatically, particularly when it comes to the issue of women’s rights. In fact, I would say that the ultimate Galentine’s Day celebration took place on January 21, 2017 throughout not only the United States, but the entire world. It wasn’t on February 13th, and it didn’t involve the extravagance of Leslie Knope handing out hand-crocheted flower pens or personalized 5,000 word essays about why all of our best girl friends are so awesome, but it was a whole lot of ladies celebrating ladies. That’s what Galentine’s Day is really all about. Not only were these ladies celebrating each other, but they were fighting together, as a united front, to raise their voices together. The Women’s March on Washington the day after the inauguration of Donald J. Trump sparked similar marches across the country. Marches actually took place on every continent, including Antarctica. The march in Washington D.C. alone attracted around 500,000 women, men, and children. They let their voices and opinions on gender-based violence, reproductive rights, women’s health, LGBTQIA rights, and so many other pressing issues be heard.

In honor of Galentine’s Day this year, I am going to participate in the 10 Actions for the First 100 Days created by the Women’s March. The march on the 21st alone is not enough to make change and make history. The voices of the march need to be followed by actions. Action 1 for the first 10 days of the movement is to write a postcard to your Senators about the issues that matter to you the most and how you are going to fight for them. You can keep the wine and chocolate and Mexican food, and maybe even throw in some hand crocheted flower pens for your Galentine’s celebration, but also download the official Women’s March postcard to write your thoughts to your Senators with all of your favorite ladies. There’s plenty of inspiration for what to write under #whyimarch. This Galentine’s Day, you and your gal pals can continue the Women’s March movement and continue to make your voices heard.
Stay tuned on the Women’s March website for the rest of the 10 actions.