Why So Many Congresswomen Chose To Wear White at the State of the Union

As President Joe Biden made his way to the podium Thursday night to make his State of the Union address, cameras panned over the members of Congress gathered for the event, showing that many of the lawmakers were dressed in white. That was, obviously, not a coincidence.

The Democratic Women’s Caucus announced this week that its members would wear white—a nod to American suffragettes—and don pins reading “Fighting for Reproductive Freedom” during the speech.

“Our message is clear: women must be able to access the health care they need to control their own lives and futures. That means women, not politicians, should be in charge of whether, when, and how to start or grow their families. That includes access to birth control, access to abortion, and access to IVF,” said DWC Chair Lois Frankel.

This is not the first time these Democratic congresswomen have used this specific sartorial choice to send a message. In 2019, the caucus decided to wear “suffragette white” to Donald Trump’s State of the Union address. At the time, Frankel called the move a “respectful message of solidarity with women across the country, and a declaration that we will not go back on our hard-earned rights.”

Unfortunately, we have had so many of those rights stripped from us in the five years since. The DWC’s decision to wear white tonight is sending a simple, silent message that we do not intend to let that loss of rights be permanent, and that the fight is ongoing.

(featured image: Shawn Thew-Pool/Getty Images)