These Trump Tower protesters tell us why they're proud 'Nasty Women'

Despite being repeatedly interrupted by a Times Square entertainer known for performing in his tighty whities, participants of the “Nasty Women Grab Trump by the Ballot” protest hosted by the National Organization for Women (NOW) loudly proclaimed themselves “Nasty Women” in front of Trump Tower on Hillary Clinton’s 69th birthday.

Here, in their own words, is why these women have chosen to reclaim the sexist insult Trump threw at Clinton during last week’s presidential debate.

Jean Bucaria, deputy director of NOW-New York City

“We are nasty women because we speak out. We are nasty women because we stand up for ourselves. We are nasty women because we won’t stand down. We are nasty women because we’re going to come forward and tell our stories because every single woman has experienced sexual harassment, every single woman has felt abused or put down where they had a gross person on the subway try to rub up against them. This is our every day lives and we’re not gonna take it anymore. … We are taking these words back, we are taking it back today. Donald Trump cannot call us nasty, he cannot call us fat or pigs or slobs or disgusting. We are women, we are here, we are proud, and we will vote him out on Nov. 8.”

“You saw it live, right here, what women experience every day of our lives because we are here taking a stand–our constitutional right to voice our opinion about this election–and we are called a ‘bitch.’ Right here, right now, that’s the way it plays out. We were already threatened that we would have our pussy grabbed for being out here already right now in just the last half hour. This is a wake up call to America. This presidential election is important because we can have our rights rolled back. We cannot allow racism to fester into our community, or xenophobia, and we gotta move forward. And that is why women are going to be the key to winning this election Nov. 8. All the nasty women, all the bitches, are going out to the polls to vote Nov. 8.”

Alyssa Cannizzaro, executive assistant at NOW-New York City

“Nasty women vote, nasty women turn out, nasty women in New York and all across this country are going to be hitting the ground running. … Being a Nasty Woman means being confident, unapologetic about who you are and what you believe in. If getting things done and being proud of that makes you nasty, then I’m nasty!”

Joyce Johnson, former Congressional and New York City Council candidate

“When I first came out of college in the early ’70s, and worked for a manufacturing plant–first woman in management–and I was told back then that I should be home with my daughter and husband. Back then you could not get bank accounts on your own. … We were taught that equal opportunity–living the American Dream–only to a point. … And it has to stop. So this line drawn in the sand against Donald Trump and his principles, and he’s not going to revisit history, set old standards of behavior for any of us.”

Summer covers the circus that is the 2016 presidential election. Although now based in Brooklyn, she considers her native LA and college residence of Chicago as her hometowns. When not geeking out about politics, she’s full-time fangirling over too many bands.