Fears that an overt misogynist would be appointed to the White House were confirmed earlier this week as Donald Trump was elected the 45th President of the United States. Not only did Trump win by a landslide, but his only rival, Hillary Clinton, trailed behind by 0.3% in the popular vote, indicating that his policies are reflective of the desires of the majority of Americans. One only needs to take a glance at the breakdown of Trumpâs voters to see that his basis of support lies predominantly with older white men. And yet, Clinton, despite being the first woman to run for Presidency, attracted the same number of women voters as her Democrat predecessor, Barack Obama, and 53% of white women voted for the Republican nominee this year. Nevertheless, a feminist President â regardless of their gender â is exactly what America needs.
I spoke to numerous American college women who, in the first Presidential election whereby they could vote, all fiercely opposed Trump. Attending university in states that voted overwhelmingly in favour of Clinton, their views are reflective of current liberal anxieties, but also possess an optimistic spirit; adamant that women and other minorities will not be silenced by Trumpâs coming Presidency.
In a nation that was praised for electing the first African-American President just eight years ago, many are now apprehensive that the U.S. is regressing into ultra-conservatism. This is certainly Stephanieâs view, a freshman at the University of Michigan, who laments âI really thought America was heading in the right directionâ following Obamaâs two-term presidency. Simply put, Stephanie believes that the American people âdonât think that a woman would make a successful Presidentâ.
Bethany, a junior at Northwestern University, Illinois, seems to share Stephanieâs frustrations, maintaining that the election result says much about âhow we value women in Americaâ. The Indian Express explains how a number of women âwillingly side-lined Trumpâs deplorable misogynist behaviourâ. Thus, whilst âgenderâ was not the only factor in Clintonâs failure to secure the Presidency, American society has shown that men can continue to be successful despite their backward and degrading attitude towards women. As Bethany agonisingly stresses, this sends the damaging message that âwe allow men time and time again to get away with [accusations of] sexual assault virtually consequence freeâ. The unstoppable force that is Trump testifies to how white men are excused of almost everything, as long as they have money, power, and privilege on their side. Indeed, a recent Cosmopolitan feature revealed how some of his most ardent female supporters would have to see Trump murder someone before he lost their support.
A college student in New York, who would prefer to remain anonymous, shares Stephanie and Bethanyâs views that Trumpâs election is emblematic of a socially regressive American society. A major issue highlighted by all of these young women is that the pro-choice movement will come under scrutiny from Trump and Pence. Despite Obama permanently protecting Planned Parenthood from defunding in the wake of the election result, one of the women I spoke to highlighted that âmany women are now getting IUDsâ in haste before Trumpâs inauguration in anticipation of their contraceptive rights being stripped. In an extremely powerful assertion alluding to breaches to womenâs civil liberties, the junior from the East Coast argued that Trump âthreatens the very basic rights of being femaleâ â something all American women who want the choice to control their own bodies will undoubtedly fear.
Yet, in his acceptance speech, Trumpâs brash and unashamed rhetoric already seemed toned down, emphasising âunityâ and being a President for âall Americansâ. Moreover, on election morning, Trump had removed his statement promising to âban all Muslimsâ from the U.S. from his website, surprising given the prevalence of Trumpâs anti-immigration rhetoric. Can American women seek solace in Trumpâs apparent U-turn, or should they remain guarded when it comes to Trumpâs sexism and his Vice Presidentâs anti-abortion stance? Only time will tell whether fears surrounding his Presidency are to be realised, but, for now, a vast degree of moral panic has engulfed the anti-Trump camp.
All of the young women I spoke to seemed deeply offended by Trumpâs election, and interpreted the result as a personal attack on womenâs rights, as well as an assault on other minorities. This is not the vision these women had for their nation, and their disappointment with the electoral choices made by the wider public is unmistakeable. And yet, in anticipating their countryâs future, they all also possessed an admirable faith in American women to defend themselves against an inherently misogynistic establishment. As one student so ardently put it, âI was and still am so empowered by the fact that we had a female Presidential candidate⊠We will fight. This [defeat] will only inspire us to work harder for our rightsâ. Regardless of the policies Trump implements, his election has undeniably made racism, sexism and homophobia acceptable in the public sphere; something we all need to actively oppose if we are to preserve our liberal Western ideals.
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