In the twenty-first century, more advances in feminism and women's rights have been made than ever before. Zimbabwe banned child marriage, Taiwan inaugurated its first female president, and the Supreme Court made a landmark ruling to protect abortion access. Countless feminists have worked to reach the epitome that women all around the world are now grateful for. However, all of these efforts can be undone with a single ruling--Trump.
In a society mediated by Trump, the question of women's rights lingers. America's current president has openly proved himself to be a believer in misogyny. In the Brett Kavanaugh decision, he took to attacking Christine Blasey Ford rather than maintaining a neutral disposition, something that can be seen as morally despicable. Along with this, he openly mocked several female journalists at a press conference when discussing the Kavanaugh case. And these are not the extent of his anti-feminist whims--he has repeatedly demeaned women and victims of sexual abuse while rushing to defend men accused of enabling sexual misconduct. Our "grab-em-by-the-pussy" president has enabled mass hysteria in women through fear of losing their jobs, fear of losing their right to control their own money, let alone have money, and fear of losing the option of abortion from pro-life to pro-prison.
Trump's predilections towards women's rights and feminism should not come as a shock, however. Our president has been openly accused of sexual assault by seventeen women, a statistic that proved to be evidently unsurprising when Trump supported Brett Kavanaugh in the #MeToo campaign just a year after the Women's March. He blatantly refuses to address movements criticizing his presidency such as the Women's March because he rejects feminism. And why? Author and professor Cheris Kramarae once said that "Feminism is the radical notion that women are human beings." Trump, however, has reduced feminism to an ideology rooted in hostility towards men. In his inauguration speech, he promised to unite people of all genders, sexualities, and races. He said that he is "for women, for men, for everyone." Almost two years after his election, this has proved to be untrue.
And signs of Trump's failed promises and horrifying policies have already begun to show. Posing an uncanny resemblance to Puritan beliefs and a war torn state, children are now being taken away from their mothers at the US-Mexico border. Almost two-thousand immigrant children have been taken away from their mothers and families and placed in detention centers over a short course of six weeks, and the Trump administration has managed to pull out of the UN Human Rights Council. Though this is due to illegal immigration, the underlying cause is in fact fascism. Events like these are already showing an existence that is not defined by freedom, but rather the desire for it. Trump's withdrawal of America from the Human Rights Council signifies impending doom with no regulation of citizens' basic rights. In the Hulu show inspired by the Handmaid's Tale, a lesbian professor is fired from her position because of increasing anti-LGBT sentiment, a practice that is not uncommon in the scope of today's world. Teachers are being fired solely for their sexuality, a practice deemed morally unacceptable, but of course acceptable by the Trump administration. While abortions were originally thought of as the child bearer's decision, they are now being looked upon in a new light. The Trump administration is cutting back on Planned Parenthood and aims to make up for this plight by teaching women "sexual refusal skills." We still live in a world in which conservative politicians would not hesitate to enact forced pregnancy. Already, women have had to face prison time for simply carrying out an abortion and one-third of state abortion restrictions since Roe vs. Wade, a critical case in determining abortion laws, have been enacted in just the last seven years. If Trump is re-elected into office in the 2020 election, America's fate as a feminist society is unstable.
Though numerous efforts are being taken by feminist activists to reduce the wrath of Trump and the Republican senate, it is essential to take into account the fact that Trump was voted into office by our own people, including a whopping 52% of women. Through means of political propaganda and heaps of "sweet-talk," Trump was elected into office by a majority of women for the mysognistic individual he is--and this could happen again. America is transforming into a patriarchal society before our very eyes, and this is solely due to the Trump administration and Republican party's new policies and ideals. When asked if he was a feminist, he simply responded with "No, I wouldn't say I'm a feminist. That would be maybe, going too far." Upon asking for further explanation, Trump responded by saying that he is both for women and men. Citizens of America, we have a president that does not comprehend the true meaning of being a feminist and is completely oblivious to the responsibilities that come alongside this. Feminism is not the belief that women should be valued above men; rather it fights for the social, economic, and cultural equality of the sexes. Feminist beliefs include acknowledging that sexism exists, recognizing that sexism has been ingrained in society for an enduring period of time, and that women are equal to men in all aspects. Trump fails to come to terms with all of these. It is ultimately up to the American people to decide what they want their nation to be--a haven for equal rights, or a male chauvinistic society fueled by our own political wrongdoings.
