At the most recent presidential debate facilitated between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, Trump made several comments in an attempt to defend his previous remarks regarding women. A video that was released this past week records Trump saying that “when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything… grab them by the pussy. You can do anything." The video also showcases him describing how he is “automatically attracted to beautiful” and that he doesn’t even wait to kiss beautiful women. It’s like a magnet. He just can't help it. He's simply not responsible for his actions around women.
And then, after all of this, he got on a national stage to try and convince the American people that he is the best candidate to lead the country for the next four years.
And he said that his comments were justified because they were just “locker room talk”.
Uh… what?
First of all, this is exactly what rape culture looks like.
Rape culture is defined as an environment in which rape is prevalent and in which sexual violence against women is both normalized and excused in the media and popular culture. It is everywhere. It’s situations where sexual assault, rape, and general violence against women are trivialized, normalized, made into jokes, or just flat out ignored.
It happens a lot. Every day. All the time. Even if you don't see it. Even if you don't realize it is happening.
Rape jokes.
Sexual assault prevention programs that teach women how to not make themselves targets.
Pop music telling you that "you know you want it”.
People who truly believe that women allow themselves to be taken advantage of, whether it be how they dress or their lifestyle choices.
Taking every effort to invalidate a college woman’s claims that she was sexually assaulted on her campus.
Victims of assault never being taken seriously by either the legal system or their peers.
Convicted rapists never serving their full jail sentence.
The simple excuse of “boys will be boys."
Questions aimed to invalidate victims: "didn't you see what she was wearing?" and "why didn't you go to the police sooner" and "what aren't you being honest about?"
The list goes on and on.
Rape culture hurts everyone. It hurts sexual assault survivors who are constantly invalidated, even after they present every piece of evidence someone would need to prosecute. It hurts those who are put through hell and back both in the medical and legal systems after reporting their rape. It consistently perpetuates violence against women and makes sexual violence not a rare tragedy, but a part of everyday life. Rape culture is a vicious cycle.
Also, very few people think that this is acceptable behavior: especially for a presidential candidate.
Trump’s normalization of rape culture is more than demeaning: it is downright revolting. It is astounding that a nominated candidate running for the highest office in America can say such horrifying things about women and still be in the running speaks volumes to how little the plight of women matters in this country.
Even professional athletes have clapped back saying that they’ve been in locker rooms their entire life and that conversations surrounding sexual assault are not a part of their daily locker room vernacular.
Dozens of women have come forward accusing Trump of sexual assault. Dozens of women have come forward expressing their discomfort. Dozens of women have presented all kinds of evidence to support their claims. His response to all of this "drama"?
“These claims are all fabricated. They’re pure fiction and outright lies. These events never happened.”
That’s textbook rape culture. Donald Trump’s entire rhetoric surrounding women and his actions towards them on the campaign trail (and throughout his life) has been hypocritical and demeaning. His constant dismissal of criticism regarding both his policy and beliefs isn't really indicative of his pronounced dedication to supporting the first amendment.
Trump’s treatment of women in any given setting only adds to my list of reasons why I will always be #NeverTrump.
