Special sign
Why Democrats Wore White at Biden’s State of the Union Address
Congresswomen all in white: Democrats made a statement during Joe Biden’s State of the Union address
© Jack Gruber / USA Today Network / Imago Images
When the US Congress meets, it is usually a sea of blue, gray and black. Not so with Joe Biden’s State of the Union address. A group of Democratic women stood out here – all in white.
Yes, it was the day of Joe Biden. Rarely has the US President been so loud, so combative, so determined. But the unusually energetic 81-year-old was not the only phenomenon in Washington on Tuesday evening.
In the dreary sea of black, gray and dark blue, one group undoubtedly stood out: dozens of Democratic women dressed all in white as they listened to Biden’s State of the Union address. Coats, trouser suits, sweaters, cardigans, blazers: everything was there, the main thing was that it was as brightly white as possible.
With the uniform choice of colors, the congresswomen wanted to do much more than just stand out. With the fashion statement they sent a sign of solidarity.
The suffragette movement – women’s fight for a political say
It was a sight very much in the style of the so-called “suffragettes,” as women’s rights activists were called in the United States and Great Britain at the beginning of the 20th century. The term is derived from the English word “suffrage”, which means the right to vote. The founder of the movement is the British Emmeline Pankhurst, who fought for women’s political participation together with her daughters despite persecution and arrest. The feminists are said to have worn white, which stands for purity, in order to externally defend themselves against the accusation that they and their demands were “morally corrupt.”
Suffragettes in typical white in front of the US Capitol in 1914
© UIG / Imago Images
This year, many congresswomen also wore African kente cloth or pink accents, also associated with the suffragette movement. With Trump’s possible return to the White House, many Americans also fear a nationwide, gradual rollback of their rights, especially the right to abortion, which is already restricted in many states.
Sources: “New York Times“; “Washington Post“; BpB