Women make up approximately 50% of the entire population, so we need government officials who have our best interests in mind. With the presidential election quickly approaching, this question of which candidate will show women the most support in their policies, as well as which one will be the best role model for young women is very important.
A few days ago, a video was released of the republican nominee, Donald Trump, discussing how he used his power to sexually assault women. He said, “When you’re a star, they let you do it [grab women by the p---y].” After this video was broadcast, many people, including fellow Republican officials, pulled their endorsement from Trump. People are finally asking themselves what it would mean for American women if he was elected president, and whether or not he would act appropriately and professionally towards female employees. Of course, I'm a bit concerned that it took so many people this long to acknowledge Trump's misogynistic views, but that's a whole different problem.
This is only the latest in an extensive history of Trump saying horribly sexist, degrading remarks about women. Let’s take a look at his ‘report card’ and what effect these comments might have on American women.
First of all, Trump is a sexual assault/rape apologist and this is demonstrated in his latest remarks that I previously mentioned, as well as the following comment. In 2013, he tweeted, “26,000 unreported sexual assaults in the military-only 238 convictions. What did these geniuses expect when they put men and women together?” Apparently, men are animals who are incapable of controlling their urges when they’re surrounded by women. A man who thinks that women will inevitably be sexually assaulted when they are in close proximity with men should not be in charge of the policies that will affect these women. He is teaching future generations that men and women should be separated unless women want to face the constant risk of being raped. Also, what does this imply about Trump himself and his history with women? He’s worked with the female population before, so if he thinks that men can’t control themselves, maybe that means that he has experience with a lack of self-control. There are several sexual assault cases against him, so this theory is likely to be accurate and that is a terrifying reality for American women to face.
Trump has also discredited the hard work of successful women by claiming that their looks are the reason for their success. He once stated, “It’s certainly not groundbreaking news that the early victories by the women on ‘The Apprentice’ were, to a very large extent, dependent on their sex appeal.” His show, ‘The Apprentice’, is essentially about business people getting a chance to be apart of his business. Aside from his remark that the businesswomen only succeeded in his show due to their appearance, there has also been allegations of Trump rating these women and demeaning them in other ways. He treats women as though we are less than human, and like we only exist in order to visually stimulate and pleasure men. If Trump views women as nothing more than sexual objects, how can we expect him to support policies that will enforce our basic human rights?
These are only a few of the disgustingly misogynistic remarks that Trump has made over the years and he has never actually apologized for them. He’s made excuses like, “it was just locker room talk”, but that is not an apology; it’s a justification for his sexist comments. Apart from the threat that he poses towards women through his actions and the policies that he will likely support, he’s also going to teach young girls to devalue themselves. If a child hears their president refer to women as mere objects and excuse sexual assault, they will grow up believing such things. Trump will show young boys that women don’t deserve to be treated as equals, justifying sexual harassment/assault and other, more subtle forms of sexism in their growing minds. He will teach young girls the same thing; they don’t deserve respect because they are only here to serve men. This will create women with low self-worth and a belief that they are inferior to men. Trump’s sexist views will only serve to deepen rape culture and create a country where women are even more devalued than we already are, erasing the strides that America has made in the past few decades.
