A 2005 video of presidential nominee Donald Trump making "lewd" comments about women surfaced Friday, and thankfully, outrage is coming from all people. Not only did Trump prove that he does not respect women, but he also contributed to the normalization of sexual assault that people have been trying so hard to overcome.
People of all political ideologies have banded together to tell him that his comments were bad. His wife even condemned his words, saying that "the word my husband used are unacceptable and offensive to me." Utah representative Jason Chaffetz pulled his support of the Republican nominee, Speaker Paul Ryan said he was "sickened" by the comments, Senator John McCain said Trump's "boasts about sexual assault make it impossible to continue to offer even conditional support." Left and right, people are telling Trump that it's time for him to drop out — to which he responds that there is "zero chance" he'll quit.
I'm not here to tell you that Trump was in the wrong. I think it's very clear that he was. I'm here to tell you that this kind of language is unacceptable coming from anyone, not just a potential President.
People use language that normalizes sexual assault all the time. People victim blame, people say that certain conditions mean that it wasn't a rape, even when the person says they were rape.
Author Kelly Oxford took to Twitter to talk about her experience with unwanted physical contact from men. She beckoned other women to share their experiences. Every story talks about men, often men with some form of authority, making inappropriate advances on them. Often, the women sharing their stories share that they were very young when it happened — even as young as 11 years old.
How do we as a society allow this? Why do we teach young girls that if a boy is mean to you, it means he likes you? Why do we force children to hug and kiss people, even when they beg us not to? That teaches them that their agency doesn't matter — if someone wants to touch them, they need to let them, even if they are uncomfortable.
That is not okay.
We are better than this. If everyone who is condemning Trump would take a moment out of their day to condemn every instance of sexual assault normalization, we could change the world. These kinds of comments don't need to happen, but if we don't tell the people making them that they're in the wrong, they'll continue as if it were okay. And it's not. It's a big deal when anyone makes these comments, not just Trump.
Yes, Trump is in a very powerful position, making what he did much worse that what happens on a day-to-day basis. But why do you think that Trump that it was okay?
Let's not create more Trumps. One is already one too many.
