Dyke March, 1993

At 5pm on April 24, 1993, 20,000 lesbians gathered at Dupont Circle (a center for gay activity in D.C.). Without a permit, they marched from Dupont Circle to the White House, and then the National Mall, carrying a large vagina puppet and chanting "We're dykes! We're out! We're out for power". Some were topless, some were banging on drums, some held torches, and some ate fire. The point was to make a scene and celebrate their sexuality at the same time.

In June of 1992, the DC City council had passed a law that offered a few, limited protections and responsibilities to same-sex couples and their families, but a republican held Congress blocked the implementation of the law by withholding funds until 2002. Same sex marriage was legalized in DC in December of 2009.

Although the 1993 Dyke March did not inspire immediate policy changes, it kickstarted Dyke Marches in many cities across the U.S. including Chicago, New York, and San Francisco, as well as in Germany and the UK. A central theme of all the marches is to protest the control of Gay Pride events by only white gay men.

Every Dyke March in DC since then has been without a permit and held the day before the Pride Parade.

Herstory of the Dyke March, NYC Dyke March. Accessed December 9th 2020. https://www.nycdykemarch.com/herstory.

Lang, Marissa. ‘Pride and protest’: Dyke March returns to Washington after a 12-year hiatus, Washington Post. June 5th 2019. Accessed December 9th 2020. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/pride-and-protest-dyke-march-returns-to-washington-after-a-12-year-hiatus/2019/06/05/8eb58e12-86f4-11e9-a491-25df61c78dc4_story.html.

History, DC Dyke March. Accessed December 9th 2020. https://www.dcdykemarch.com/history/.