Art Therapy Special: Protest Signs for a Protest World

Are you participating in a march or protest this weekend/sometime over the next four years?? Probably! A lot of us will be attending the Women’s March on Washington or one of its sister marches around the country on Saturday, maybe even meeting up with other Autostraddle readers to march together. Protest marches call for a few things, like comfy shoes, emergency phone numbers written in sharpie on your forearms, and clever/inspiring protest signs. One reader on twitter asked for help coming up with things to put on protest signs for the Women’s March, thus this art therapy post was born.

Remember 18 New Donald Trump Person of The Year Covers? We do what we can in these dark times.

What will you put on your sign?


1. Carrie Wade, Staff Writer


2. KaeLyn Rich, Staff Writer


3. Mey Rude, Queen Trans and Trans Editor


4. Audrey White, Staff Writer


5. Stef Schwartz, Vapid Fluff Editor


6. Laneia Jones, Executive Editor


7. Maree Hamilton, Staff Writer


8. Rachel Kincaid, Managing Editor


9. Laura Mandanas, Staff Writer


10. Alaina Monts, Staff Writer


11. Stef Schwartz again

If you’re looking for more sign inspiration, Herstory has lots of historic queer signage from yesteryear. Share your art therapy or slogan ideas in the comments!

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L

L has written 310 articles for us.

50 Comments

  1. – Daddy, why don’t you love me? Signed Tiffany
    – hands too small, can’t build a wall

  2. As an immigrant myself I will rep my people (and Hamilton)
    My sign would say “immigrants: we get the job done”

  3. I kind of like the line form Unbreakable Kimmy and I think it works well here, “White Dudes Hold the Record for Creepy Crimes.”

  4. Mine says “Dykes against Donald!” although I do love “Straight white people fuck up damn near everything.”

  5. I’m looking for a sign that would piss Mike Pence off. We all know Trump is bad and I think how much of a nutcase Pence is has kind of got lost in that.

    Bonus points if there’s a conversion therapy joke.

  6. Mine says “Hell yes I have a feminist agenda” on one side and “Dumbledore’s Army” on the other. I’ll also be wearing a rainbow flag.

      • Not really because in my pride of remembering how to spell the phrase I forgot a certain someone shouted that specific phrase before doing a certain thing to a certain person holding a certain office in a certain country over a century ago.

        It is the opposite of clever, if I’m going to get put on a list or disappeared it better be for damn good reason that will mean something, not just from forgetfulness and misplaced pride.

        I hate that this is thought pattern that I have, but I want what’s going to get me silenced someday to matter.
        I only got one life and I gotta make it count.

  7. The little red sad! on laneia’s sign is perfect.

    I like these guys! This and the TIME covers one y’all did a+.

  8. alas I went to the Bridges Not Walls banner drop today so I’m not going to have enough spoons to go to the sister London Women’s March, but!

    I have a vintage style, so mine would’ve been: “I like the aesthetics not the politics – don’t take us back to the 1930s”

    (gonna use that one day I promise!)

  9. alas I went to the Bridges Not Walls banner drop today so I’m not going to have enough spoons to go to the sister London Women’s March, but!

    I have a vintage style, so mine would’ve been: “I like the aesthetics not the politics – don’t take us back to the 1930s”

    (also “stay away from my friends you rapist nazi fuck” has got to be my favourite!)

  10. Well done on these! A few for laughs to lighten my heart, and a few to set it ablaze. My local protest event for tomorrow is happening on rather short notice, so I won’t have time to get a sign together.

    Instead, I pulled my rainbow umbrella out of the closet (heh) and I’ll probably just shout a lot :)

    • We have a rainbow umbrella too! I’ll tell my mom to bring it to the Orlando, Florida Sister March tomorrow.
      My sister, Katharine, can’t come to the rally with me and our friend, Kara. If she were, I’d carry a sign saying “Kristen, Katharine, and Kara hate the Klu Klux Klan.”
      The sign I’m actually bringing says “Autism is NOT a fate worse than death”: a statement against Trump’s anti-vax and ableist views.
      P.S. Can we please stop comparing my least favorite “president” to one of my favorite munchies?

  11. I’m working on my signs for tomorrow’s march in St. Paul and listening to Lizzo. I’m pretty proud of this one, I even knitted the tiny mittens myself!

  12. “Esta tierra es tu tierra, this land is my land too”

    or perhaps

    “This land is your land, esta tierra es mi tierra tambien”

    probs should only be used by Latinx people of indigenous descent

    Maybe shorter as well

    Esta tierra es mi tierra tambien
    This land is my land too

  13. I got to teach my kids about Feminism today – take that, Trump! Here are our signs for the march tomorrow:

    Yes, that is glitter.

  14. One side of my sign will say “THE FUTURE IS QUEER” and the other side will say “Time to clean up all this NAZI SCUM” w/ and anti-fascist circle

  15. Probably poor form to start my sign with “Single Lesbians for…” or “Single Lesbians against…”?

  16. Someone at my local rally had “Make Facts Great Again” which made me laugh and cry at the same time.

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