Lisa Levenstein

In January 2017, over three million Americans took to the streets. The Women’s March was the largest protest in US history, and a testament to the intense public reaction to the incoming president Donald Trump. But the massive response to an unapologetically feminist march also reflected decades of women’s organizing. How did a movement that so many had described as obsolete spread its message so widely and inspire so many people to act? Uncovering the history of the women’s movement in the 1990s helps answer this question. “When Feminism Went Viral” explores how feminists took the movement online and developed innovative approaches for addressing issues like reproductive health and domestic violence. Their late twentieth century efforts to forge new networks and strategies within and beyond the United States laid the groundwork for the highly connected movement today.