Sexual assault is not a joke. It's not "just the way things are." It's not "boys just being boys." And it's definitely not "locker room talk."
During last Sunday's Presidential Town-hall debate, America was watching with hopes of receiving answers from Trump after current releases of tapes from the 2005 conversation with Billy Bush, at the time the host of "Access Hollywood." In the video, Trump reveals his failed attempt to seduce a married woman. Continuing with his profane comments after noticing Arianne Zucker, the actress waiting to escort them to the soap-opera set, he brags, "You know I'm attracted to beautiful- I just start kissing them. It's like a magnet... And when you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab them by the p*ssy. You can do anything."
After being confronted about his comments in last week's debate, instead of apologizing genuinely, Trump's excuse was, "I don’t think you understood what it was- It’s locker room talk, and it’s one of those things. .. And we should get on to much more important things and much bigger things. It's just words folks, it's just words." After 11 years, that was his justification.
Apparently, to Trump, there are more pressing issues and this tape is "a distraction from the issues we are facing today." Well to me, Trump is an immense issue so let's face that and talk about it.
I'm a woman, a daughter, an athlete, and a human being and I can tell you right now that there are so many things wrong with that statement. Locker rooms are to talk about frustrations, dreams, love lives, opinions, cute boys or girls, successes, family, struggles, money, school/work, and relatable stories that bring your team closer. Engaging in sexual assault is not relatable nor engaging so no: bragging about unwanted sexual actions is not a locker room story. Sorry Trump, your excuse is lame and just inaccurate for why you continue to degrade women; that's not what goes on in locker rooms.
In fact, former NFL player Chris Kluwe even asserts in his response to Trump that "I was in an NFL locker room for eight years, the very definition of the macho, alpha male environment you're so feebly trying to evoke to protect yourself, and not once did anyone approach your breathtaking depths of arrogant imbecility."
Chris Kluwe isn't the only athlete with these views. Lebron James, power forward of the Cleveland Cavaliers, explained what locker room talk meant to him, he emphasized, "what that guy was saying, I don't know what that is. That's trash talk."
So in reality, even locker room banter at a professional level does not comprise of the insulting, offensive sexual comments that someone who's running in our presidential election thinks is normally acceptable.
If we have a president who approves of rape culture and tolerates men engaging in unconsented sexual exchanges, then do we really have a leader we look up to? Don't allow "boys will be boys," it's "just the way things are," and especially "it's locker room talk" to be an excuse for sexual assault. Don't allow this country to be in hands of some gruesome, creepy pervert. And most importantly- don't allow me to influence your vote because hey, I'm just locker room talkin'.
