Being a babe isn’t about outward attractiveness. It isn’t about how many 14ers you’ve summited, the number of miles you’ve hiked, or how long your hair is. It doesn’t matter if you’re a Republican or a Democrat, black or white, rich or poor, male, female, or somewhere in between.

Being a babe is about holding each other up, giving back, and apologizing when we’ve made mistakes. It’s about not taking life too seriously, but being mature enough to handle whatever gets thrown at us.

1. Even on your busiest days, you make time for others. Whether “others” means your dog, your boss, the mailman, or the environment, you go through life caring for those who need a friend, but also recognizing when you’re the one who needs a little support.
2. You ask for help. Independence is so IN right now but I’m pretty sure no one can move a king-size mattress alone. You’re more than willing to take a stab at anything on your own, but aren’t ashamed when you hit a snag. (Offering to give others a hand is pretty babe-worthy too.)
3. The process of things excites you. Most of us know that climbing a mountain isn’t just the physical act of getting to the top – it’s the preparation, the relationships you build, the inner demons you fight along the way. Instead of refusing to acknowledge these components when you finally do reach the summit of whatever peak you’re climbing, you better believe your acceptance speech is going to be chock-full of genuine thank you’s, emotional stories, and caring faces.
4. You care about something and say so. You believe that being complicit is no different than being on the opposing side of an issue.  You speak up about what matters to you, but you listen more than you talk. It is so crucial to democracy that we take the time to hear each other out and respond in an appropriate way.
5. From a young age you’ve been identifying the holes in everyone’s logic, and not because you want to fight or make someone feel stupid, but because you genuinely want to help them better understand themselves. Life is pretty confusing, and by the time we become these so-called “adults” things can get pretty muddled in our brains. You strive to be your most authentic self, and encourage others too! If who that is changes day-to-day, that’s okay. You don’t make progress by staying in the same place.
6. You’re empathetic AF.  This world is harsh – the last thing we need is a bunch of emotionless robots roaming the streets ignoring every new sad, awful, terrible, or good thing that happens. We have to be honest with ourselves about the true state of things, and refusing to engage is really uncool. You own your emotions and give others the space to do the same.

 
Sounds like you? Rejoice! And share the love – according to my calculations we’re severely understaffed in the babe department and the maximum capacity is infinite.

Recently in the media I have noticed the rise of news articles with titles similar to, ‘Why I Would Never Call Myself a Feminist.’

These articles include things about feminism that really wouldn’t be a problem if people were educated about what it means to be an advocate for women’s rights. Unfortunately in the 21st century, a lot of the time, a feminist is seen as a woman who doesn’t shave and hates men.

But truly a feminist is any person who supports the EQUALITY of all sexes. A lot of the time the term ‘feminist’ brings forth many negative thoughts.

Getting the rights we protest for and strive for wouldn’t make men less than us. It would make us more equal.

This is something that I understand but feel like plenty of other people just don’t. I understand that demonizing men is not going to solve any problems.

All in all it’s important for people to be educated before they go spitting ‘facts’ about feminism.

If there wasn’t so much controversy surrounding the topic we’d be able to make way more progress than what is happening.

I’d hate to say it but, in my opinion, feminism has made hardly any progress since we got the right to vote nearly 100 years ago.

We still have a low male to female ratio in congress, the pay gap between men and women is slowly widening, and more.

Women’s rights are a mess right now.

As long as people think that feminists are seen as crazy men haters nobody is going to take our points seriously. ​

The Women's March started as a Facebook event, but quickly gained momentum around the globe as a response to issues concerning women’s rights, environmental rights, racism, LGBT+ rights, and the election of Donald Trump. Every continent experienced at least one march, including Antarctica.

What did the Women’s Marches show us? 
It showed us that there are millions of people around the world willing to take a stand against fascism, racism, discrimination, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, xenophobia, and misogyny. 
It showed us more people are dedicated to marching against Trump and Pence than for them. 
It showed us how much we value each other and the right to protest, as there were no official reports of violence or arrests during any of the U.S. marches.

The march is over, but the resistance is not. It is very important to maintain the momentum and motivation from the march by calling your elected officials (find your Representatives and Senators), signing petitions, demonstrating when you are able to, and showing Trump and his administration that we will not back down. We have the people, now we need the action.

Get involved in your community. 
Volunteer at a homeless or women’s shelter.
Educate yourself on the issues. 
Volunteer for your local political office. 
Donate to groups like Planned Parenthood, the Environmental Defense Fund, the ACLU, and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.
Fight to protect the environment.
Contact your elected officials if you are unhappy with how they’re representing you (the organization 5 calls helps you find phone numbers to contact your officials, and even provides you with an organized script for you to refer to).
Do something to show Trump we won't back down. 
Be loud. Be aggressive. Be present.

We have a lot of work to do.
Follow the Women’s March official accounts here: Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Read about the Denver march here, and see some incredible photographs taken by Conner. 

Watch some footage from the D.C. march below, or here. 

It’s never too late to let your voice be heard.