How the Inaugural Gender Liberation March Used Fashion to Fight For Equality

You'd have to go out of your way to miss hundreds of LGBTQ+ folks decked in all-white looks, holding up witty protest signs while marching down the streets of Washington, D.C. On September 14, that's exactly what happened as queer protesters from across the U.S. arrived at the nation's capital for the first-ever Gender Liberation March (GLM).

Organized by Trans and queer activists such as Raquel Willis, Eliel Cruz, Fran Tirado, Sarah Sophie Flicker, Jason Rosenberg, Devin-Norelle, and Ariel Friedlander, many of whom planned the 2020 and 2021 Brooklyn Liberation Marches, the protestors had one clear mission statement: to loudly fight for reproductive rights, Trans rights, and other progressive causes while also denouncing the policies associated with Project 2025—all while doing so directly outside of the Heritage Foundation's headquarters, where the conservative plan's authors are based.

Protestors have long used uniforms, T-shirts, and style to advocate for their causes, and so all-white was the M.O. for this first-ever gathering. "When there is any large gathering of queer and Trans folks, there will always be some eye-catching, earth-shattering looks,” Willis, a key GLM organizer, tells InStyle, explaining white was the suggested color as it references the color palette of the organizers' previous marches in Brooklyn.

White apparel was also key because it helped tie the legacy of the GLM with past civil rights battles. “We see our marches as extensions and expansions of past social justice fights, like that of the anti-lynching campaigns that created the 1917 Negro Silent Protest Parade and the fight for women’s suffrage," Willis explains.

For the event, Willis wore a Faithfull cotton jersey dress with a Nike pleated tennis skirt made of recycled polyester. Other marchers wore white sundresses, fishnets, blouses, blazers, and tank tops. Some even wore white graphic T-shirts that donned the logo for the activist group Act Up as well as phrases like “I had an abortion," “abortion: not just for the ladies,” and “all dolls go to heaven.” 

Throughout the display of bright white ensembles, many protestors also adorned their hair and outfits with flowers. Key organizer Cruz said many “wore flowers and flower crowns as a call back to movement icon Marsha P. Johnson.” Willis agrees, saying the flower crowns and accents were a symbol of Johnson, the “Transcestor” who was a pioneer of the Stonewall Riots. She adds, “Flowers always serve as a secondary motif, especially for Trans folks of color.”

The crowd at the GLM also had star power, with participants including Stonewall Riots activist Miss Major, creators like Griffin Maxwell Brooks and Blair Imani, celebrities like Elliot Page and Drag Race legend Peppermint—all decked in white.

The outdated, conservative rhetoric suggested in Project 2025 was a main talking point at the march. “The agenda they have put forth would institute monitoring the abortions and reproductive health of citizens, as well as criminalize professionals who support Transgender and nonbinary folks accessing gender-affirming healthcare," Willis says.

"The goal of the Gender Liberation March was to bridge together the fights for medical access to abortion and gender-affirming care as the same fights for bodily autonomy and self-determination,” Cruz explains.

Cruz adds that access to gender-affirming care and reproductive healthcare are viewed as separate fights. However, the GLM wants to bring “attention to how these issues are already the same fight.” He notes, “Republicans and conservatives attempt to pit these communities against one another because they don’t want us to fight together. Gender Liberation March is inviting us all to fight for gender liberation for all.”

Willis underscores Cruz's mission, adding, “There continues to be an erasure of Trans and nonbinary people who need to access abortion. We need cis folks showing up for Trans and nonbinary folks and vice-versa because all of our bodies, genders, and choices are under attack.”

Willis, Cruz, and other lead organizers of GLM have created a network they hope to mobilize for future iterations of the march. From social justice organizations like Harriet’s Wildest Dreams and Solutions Not Punishments Collaborative to musicians and fashion brands, Cruz says there are hopes the event could “grow into a bigger festival.”

“We hope to engage them and create a fusion of music, culture, media, politics, and organizing at a one-of-a-kind festival that brings people in that wouldn’t normally engage in advocacy or organizing efforts,” Cruz says.

In the future, Willis notes GLM also plans to ensure power players in culture also stand up for Trans, non-binary, and LGBTQ+ individuals under attack. “We want the fashion world to truly invest in gender liberation.” she says. “So many aesthetics and innovations in fashion would not be possible without the enduring spirit and brilliance of gender non-conforming, Trans, and nonbinary people.”

To Willis, it only makes sense the fashion industry invests in ways to “break out of the outdated, restrictive ways we discuss gender” and “build a policy framework that will rival Project 2025 and the conservative fight to worsen our lives.”