Aug. 26 is Women’s Equality Day, and although this year’s marking of the occasion is a little bittersweet, given the current state of the nation,it’s still worth both celebrating what we’ve accomplished so far and continuing to fight for what we still have yet to achieve. To kick things off, here’s how to change your profile picture for Women’s Equality Day and show your support for gender equality — and, y'know, equality for everyone.
Women’s Equality Day commemorates the day the 19th Amendment, which gave women the vote, was officially adopted. (That’s Aug. 26, 1920, for the curious; it was passed by Congress on June 4, 1919 and ratified on Aug. 18, 1920.) It wasn’t until over 50 years later, however — in 1971 — that Congress designated Aug. 26 Women’s Equality Day. Read the joint resolution:
Now, therefore, be it resolved, the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, that August 26th of each year is designated as Women’s Equality Day, and the President is authorized and requested to issue a proclamation annually in commemoration of that day in 1920, on which the women of America were first given the right to vote, and that day in 1970, on which a nationwide demonstration for women’s rights took place.
The Women’s Equality Day website also urges us to “[recognize] the commemoration of that day … as an opportunity to continue to work for equal rights for all citizens.” Because our work is far from done.
It’s true that when it comes to activism, just changing your profile picture on social media isn’t enough. We also need to be fighting the good fight in real, concrete ways, because the fight for equal rights for everyone is far from over. Changing your profile pic can be a good way to show solidarity, though, and can encourage both yourself and others to take action.
Here’s an easy way to change your profile pictures on Facebook and Twitter using a nifty little tool called Twibbon:
1Go To Twibbon And Search For “Women’s Equality Day”
Sometimes, Facebook and other social networks have awesome frames available right within the apps you can use to jazz up your profile picture for specific occasions. Sometimes, though, they don’t — but luckily, we’ve got Twibbon. Here, folks who create campaigns for particular causes often include frames for social media profile pictures, and there currently quite a few options for Women's Equality Day.
2Pick Your Favorite Frame By Clicking On It
I’m going to go with the one by the AAUW; I like the message it sends about needing to continue to fight, rather than just resting on the laurels of what we’ve already achieved.
3Click “Login To Add Twibbon” And Select Which Social Network You Want To Use It With
Whichever you pick, you’ll then be prompted by a second dialogue window asking you to allow the app to access your profile. Click OK.
4Click “Add To Facebook” Or “Add To Twitter”
After the previous step, you'll be brought back to the frame's main page. This is where we start actually making our frames; clicking "Add to Twitter" or "Add to Facebook" will jump start the frame-making process for each network. Heck, why not do both while you're at it? Just start by adding one, then repeat the process and add the other.
5Adjust The Photo And Frame
Twibbon will automatically use the profile picture of whichever network you previously gave it access to. Here, you can click and drag the edges of the frame so it looks the way you want, drag the photo around to re=-position it under the frame, or swap out the photo for a new one altogether by clicking “Change Image.” I dragged the edges of the frame outward and re-positioned the photo so it was a little higher so the little AAUW sign didn't end up right in the middle of my face.
6Click “Add The Twibbon To Facebook” Or “Add The Twibbon To Twitter”
If you choose Twitter, your work here is done! It will automatically update your profile picture to your new Twibbon image, which you can see by clicking "View On Twitter."
If you choose Facebook, however, there’s a little more to accomplish.
First, after you click "Add The Twibbon For Facebook," a dialogue window will ask you to set permissions of who can see the Twibbon post on your timeline. You can select “Public,” “Friends,” “Only Me,” or “Custom.” Once you’ve made your choice, click OK, then proceed to step 7.
7For Facebook, Add The Picture To Your Profile
Clicking “Add The Twibbon To Your Facebook” and allowing it to post the image to your page uploads the newly-framed photo to your profile; from there, you have to manually set it as your profile picture. To do that, open Facebook in another tab, go to your profile, mouse over your profile picture, click “Update Profile Picture,” and select the Twibbon image you just uploaded. (You might have to scroll down a little to get to it).
Now you’re done!
At least, as far as changing your profile picture goes. Now, get ready to call your reps, volunteer or donate to organizations fighting for gender equality, and otherwise show up, for yourself and for others.
We've got this.
