Cast your mind back, if you will, to October. It was a happier time, wasn’t it? Not by much, admittedly, but still. As we watched the third US presidential debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, we still had hope.
Clinton was dressed in a snowy white suit (a nod, many said, to the ivory-clad suffragists who fought for women’s right to vote), and spoke vociferously of her commitment to defending women’s interests. She promised to protect vital reproductive health services like Planned Parenthood, and pointedly highlighted Trump’s attitude towards women. “Donald thinks belittling women makes him bigger,” she said. “He goes after their dignity, their self-worth, and I don’t think there’s a woman anywhere who doesn’t know what that feels like.”
Trump, for his part, claimed that Clinton’s pro-choice agenda meant that she wanted pregnant women to be allowed to “rip the baby out of the womb in the ninth month, on the final day” (um, no), and proceeded to cut his Democratic rival off mid-sentence to call her “such a nasty woman”.
Almost instantly, “nasty woman” was reclaimed by feminists and Clinton supporters the world over. Less than 24 hours after the debate finished, a ‘Nasty Woman’ t-shirt was available to buy online, with 50% of the proceeds going to Planned Parenthood.
Read more: Stylist’s 9-step guide to being a nasty woman
Since then, the t-shirt has raised $100,165 (£81,212) for the family planning provider – an organisation which Trump has pledged to try and defund.
Will Ferrell in one of Google Ghost's Nasty Woman t-shirts in October. Image: Rex Features
Amanda, the t-shirt’s creator, designed it as part of a range of Nasty Woman merchandise under the name Google Ghost. “I didn’t think I’d sell very many [t-shirts], maybe four or five,” she told The Cut. “But then five turned into 500, and that turned into thousands, almost overnight.”
Read more: The fearless feminists who rallied against bigotry in 2016
The t-shirts have also garnered a celebrity following, with stars including Katy Perry and Will Ferrell photographed in them.
“What better way to say ‘fuck Trump’, right?!” says Amanda.
Watch: How Donald Trump’s policies could affect women
Planned Parenthood is the largest provider of reproductive health services in the US, and it’s generally viewed positively: 59% of Americans see it as a force for good, according to a 2015 Gallup poll, including more than one-third of Republicans. However, its provision of abortions makes the organisation unpopular with many on the religious right.
Republicans in Congress will try to pass a bill – which Trump has pledged to sign – stripping Planned Parenthood of $400 million in Medicaid funds as early as January 2017. Roughly 400,000 women could lose access to reproductive healthcare if the bill is passed, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
In essence, there’s never been a better time to buy a Nasty Woman t-shirt of your very own – and you can do so right here.
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