“I didn’t know any of these women - I did not see these women.”
This seemingly meaningless sentence may very well have been the one and only mostly true thing Trump said during the entire final presidential debate. When pressed about the claims made by multiple women about his inappropriate behavior and sexual harassment, the presidential candidate adamantly maintained that these claims were not true. That he “never saw these women”. In an earlier debate, he brushed off his pussy grabbing comments as “locker room talk” - entirely ignoring the fact that what he described in that audio tape, as well as the things he has most likely done to numerous women, constitute sexual assault. It is not a joke, it is not something minor, it is not irrelevant - we are talking about a crime of sexual nature. By a man who may be on his way to becoming the President of the United States. And to me, that is simply horrifying.
I, for one, do not doubt for a second that Trump has sexually harassed multiple women on multiple occasions throughout his adult life. What I do believe is that he did not ‘see them’ - as in, see them as people worthy of his respect. See them as individuals with names and faces. See them as something more than walking asses and boobs and pussies to grab, grope and manhandle as he pleases, when he pleases. As a woman who has been groped, disrespected, belittled, harassed - and had her pussy literally grabbed by a total stranger - I know this man well. In fact, my guess is that almost every single woman and girl knows this man. We deal with them in school, in work, in public spaces, in public transport, in the media, on TV, sometimes as part of our families. We fight against them throughout our lives, demanding the treatment and respect we know we deserve and that we should not have to fight for - so when I sit in front of my TV and watch this man inches away from holding arguably the most powerful position in the entire world, I don’t even know how I am supposed to feel. Because to me, the fact that he is able to stand where he is standing now is an utter and total travesty and an insult towards every single woman not only in the United States, but in the world. This entire election is one big nightmarish pussy grab: it feels unreal, painful, grotesque, violating and infuriating.
Here he is, standing in front of a global audience in the millions, disrespecting women. Half of the nation. And not only do we listen - but we give him a megaphone. A man who calls women pigs. Who thinks pumping milk for our babies makes women disgusting. Who has, on tape, said women should be “grabbed by the pussy”. Who has, almost certainly, sexually harassed multiple women. A man who on national TV makes claims about “babies ripped from wombs” mere days before birth - which is a total, utter lie. And we watch him say it. And no one stops him.
And the thing is that if it was anyone else, we would stop it. We would not give them the stage, we would not give them our time and attention. If a sitting politician was caught on tape using the phrase “grab them by the pussy”, he would be done. If a teacher was accused by several women of sexual assault, he would be suspended. If a public figure mocked a disabled person on air in national TV, her/his career would be done. Doing any of these things individually would most certainly taint and possibly end any other person’s aspirations for a career in a public position - but apparently, when it’s a Presidential candidate, things are different. Everything is fair in love, war, and the U.S. Presidential Election.
If you are a person considering voting for Trump, here is what I have to say to you: Do not think about your wives, sisters, mothers or daughters. They should not be the reason to not vote for him. A woman’s value is not derived from her relation to others - it is, in fact, intrinsic, independent of her looks, her size, her age, her nationality, whether or not she has had children or abortions or both, and independent of who she is married to or who her father is. This is something Mr. Trump does not understand, and never will - because to him, women are not human beings with inherent worth and value. We are objects, tools, props - and nasty women standing in his way.
But what I do want you to think about is the future of this country. What does the future of a country where half its population are viewed as second class citizens, look like? Think about the trajectory of a nation where a human’s worth is determined by her looks, her size, her reproductive choices. Think about what kind of a society it will be where this man sets the bar for all the men and boys in the nation on what kind of treatment of women and girls is acceptable. Do you want to live in a society where girls are sent the message that they are less worthy, that their bodies are not theirs to control, that their rights do not matter?
You may think that you can disagree on the things he has said and done to women, and still agree with him on other issues enough to vote him. But every single vote for him is a validation of his actions towards women, his behavior, the man he is: a hate-filled, misogynistic, bullying racist. A man to whom women are objects. Women are nobodies. Women do not matter. A man whose own self-worth is dependent on pushing other people down, belittling and shaming others. This man has built himself on the ruins of those he has crushed to the ground, and that will be the foundation the United States will be built upon should we win this election. Is that a country you really want to live in? Are those the values you want to stand behind?
You may think you can somehow separate your vote for him from his words and actions towards women, but you cannot. Because the message that every single vote for him sends is that in the United States, women do not matter.
But we do matter. Our opinions do count.
And since August 18th, 1920, our votes have counted as well - and you know what, Mr. Trump? This may come as a surprise, but our votes are actually just as valuable as the votes of men.
You think you’ve seen nasty, Mr. Trump?
Just wait for November 8th.