Boston’s Ducklings Are Wearing ‘Pussyhats’

Photo via Allie Kroner

Two days before the Boston Women’s March for America, the iconic ducklings in the Public Garden are wearing “pussyhats,” the knitted pink caps with cat ears that have become a symbol of an anti-Trump movement led by women around the country.

It appears that Mrs. Mallard and the rest of the Make Way for Ducklings statues have been outfitted with the hats as a tribute to the tens of thousands of demonstrators who will take to the streets for the protest on Saturday. It begins on Boston Common.

As many as 40,000 people are now saying they will attend the rally, which coincides with a much larger one in D.C. and is shaping up to be one of the biggest post-inauguration marches in the country.

It wasn’t clear who placed the hats on the statues. Allie Kroner, who snapped a widely shared photo of them, says she took the picture Thursday morning at around 8 a.m. She isn’t sure if they’re still there. On Twitter, there were other photos and videos of the statues wearing similar pink caps as far back as January 11.

The headwear appears to be the same ones being made by women around the world as part of a campaign called the Pussyhat Project. Organizers have asked volunteers to knit thousands of them for marchers to wear in D.C., and an overwhelming number of supporters have heeded the call (so many that stores now say they can’t keep up with the demand for pink yarn.)

In part, they’re a reaction to the Access Hollywood tape in which Trump says into a hot mic that he “grabs” women “by the pussy.” And they also are intended to symbolize empowerment and represent protesters’ concerns about the incoming president’s impact on issues concerning women’s health, safety, and equality.

“In this era of really divisive politics and the news cycle is so pessimistic and gut-wrenching, people are rallying around being politically active and standing up for themselves,” Pussyhat Project cofounder Jayna Zweiman tells USA Today. “This gives an opportunity for people to support the marchers and physically represent themselves at the march, and it’s giving them warmth and support.”

The ducks have gotten quite a few makeovers over the years. The Patriots’ street team earlier this week dressed them up in Pats gear to drum up support for the home team in the playoffs. Now, it seems, they’re joining the resistance.