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Why Are the Democratic Women Dress in White

This year's State of the Union comes at a particularly contentious time: in the midst of the Senate impeachment trial of President Donald Trump. During this fraught political moment, Democratic women arrived to the event in all-white attire, continuing their streak of using color-coordinated outfits to send a striking visual message to the president.

This year's suffragist white dress code is intended to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which was ratified in 1920 to grant American women the right to vote. Like last year, some congresswomen have also donned a green "ERA Yes!" button to endorse the renewed effort to pass the Equal Rights Amendment, which would enshrine equality between men and women into the US Constitution.

While the State of the Union is essentially a speech, it's also a form of political theater — something CNN described last year as "irresistible prime-time drama." For Democrats, the event has been an opportunity to highlight their opposition to the administration without explicitly saying so.

For the previous three years, women lawmakers have made political statements with their outfits. During both the 2017 joint congressional address and 2019 State of the Union, legislators also wore white to highlight women's issues. The all-white attire was especially stark in 2019, given the large number of first-time congresswomen present.

House Democrats wear black as they participate in a photo-op at the U.S. Capitol prior to President Donald Trump's first State of the Union address.
House Democrats wear black and a red "Recy" pin during Donald Trump's 2018 State of the Union address.
Alex Wong/Getty Images

In 2018, women wore black to demonstrate their solidarity with the Me Too movement, in addition to a red "Recy" pin to commemorate the life of civil rights activist Recy Taylor. Taylor, who died in December 2017, was kidnapped and raped in 1944 by six white men who never went to prison for their crimes.

Despite the organized outfit campaign, some Democratic lawmakers decided to entirely boycott the speech this year. Hours before the address, Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, Maxine Waters, and several others announced they would not attend.

"The State of the Union is as much a media event as it is a speech," said Suzanne Leonard, a Simmons College professor and director of the graduate program in gender and cultural studies, in an interview with Vox. "It's the ability to, during a national event, present their dissent without words. I would argue that these coordinated colors and fashions are speaking back to the president's verbal language in their own way, with a visual language."

Trump's dissenters, especially women, have adopted visual cues to express resistance to the administration's policies, Leonard added. They've often organized specific fashion moments for public events — from pussyhats to "It's Mueller time" T-shirts to synchronized State of the Union looks, which can be seen during the televised event.

Long before Trump's presidency, television was a medium he dominated. From acting cameos to his reality show The Apprentice, TV has fundamentally shaped Trump's public persona and professional life; he understands that certain elements of drama and outrage, even in a political setting, make for spectacular television. In the lead-up to the Senate impeachment trial, Politico reported that Trump was fixated on how his defense team would perform not just in front of senators, but to the American audience watching at home.

The State of the Union is Trump's biggest televised speech of the year, where he's in his element, front and center. One of the few things out of his control is what other people are wearing. For Democratic lawmakers to coordinate their dress is, as Leonard explains, "a savvy way to signify dissent without words," made even more significant the fourth time around.

Correction: The article erroneously wrote that the 19th Amendment granted white women the right to vote. The amendment ensured that all American citizens, regardless of gender, could vote.

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Source: https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2020/2/4/21120340/state-of-the-union-2020-outfits-political-statement