CINCINNATI -- Golden knitting needles twitched to and fro, weaving through bright pink yarn.
Women sat in a circle, almost all of them sporting the very hat they were knitting; a pink hat with small cat ears.
The hats and knitting circle were inspired by thePussyhat Project. The national movement aims to provide the marchers who attend the Jan. 21 Women’s March on Washington D.C. a pink “pussyhat” so they can make a collective visual statement as they march together.
The Bombshells of Cincinnati, a group that creates fiber art, often used for advocating for women’s rights, hosted Sunday’s event.
It was the second time The Bombshells got together to knit. Their goal was to knit 250 hats to go atop the heads of women as they march on the capital.
In addition to providing a unified identity, project organizer Jamie Thompson said part of the Pussyhat Project is reclaiming a word that is often used in the media as derogatory towards women.
“We’re playing off that notion of the pussycat with the little ears and then also the color pink, which has been reclaimed by the feminist movement as a point of pride and strength,” Thompson said.
Maria Seda-Reeder also helped facilitate the initiative. She said the group got together to show support for women’s rights at a time when there is a lot of political uncertainty.
“This was just a way for women to kind of galvanize behind the idea of showing our solidarity and raising awareness about women’s rights and freedoms,” Seda-Reeder said.
Thompson said the movement is not just about women’s reproductive rights.
“It’s on women’s rights, period,” Thompson said. “This includes the environment, this includes childcare.
“It’s a larger message than what some people might narrow it down to.”
