Why Donald Trump's "Locker Room Talk" is Harmful, Unacceptable, & Disconcerting.
Unless you've been hibernating the past couple days, you've heard the leaked audio recording of Donald Trump and Billy Bush's conversation that's been blasted over all social, radio, and television media outlets. With good reason. I've seen many different opinions on the matter, but what's worrisome to me are those people that brush off his comments or say that sure, he's a scumbag, but it doesn't have any affect on his Presidential "abilities".
This raises about a dozen million red flags in my head. How could people not be worried about this? How do people not see the DAMAGE this does to women and society. How could we possibly be making things BETTER in our society, if sexual assault, violence against women, and rape culture aren't stopped dead in their tracks? This is a man running for President of the United States of America, and we're going to let him say these things without consequence? When are we going to take violence against women seriously?
"Locker Room talk" has been acceptable in our society for too long. Here's why it needs to stop:
1. "Locker Room Talk" Promotes Rape Culture.
Rape Culture is the idea, coined in 1970 by Feminists, as the normalization of sexualized violence by society. Author Emily Buchwald defines it in her book, Transforming a Rape Culture, as "a complex set of beliefs that encourage male sexual aggression and supports violence against women...In a rape culture, women perceive a continuum of threatened violence that ranges from sexual remarks to sexual touching to rape itself. A rape culture condones physical and emotional terrorism against women as the norm...and both men and women assume that sexual violence is a fact of life, inevitable".
By allowing there to be no consequences for Donald Trump's actions, and furthermore, allowing him to still run for President of the United States, we are doing just that. We are condoning his behavior, we are furthering the ideology that it is acceptable for men to show sexual aggression, harassment, and violence against women.
2. Trump's "Locker Room Talk" isn't just disgusting, it's illegal.
Not only is this unacceptable, it's illegal. What Donald Trump is describing is sexual assault. Talking about grabbing women by their genitalia IS sexual assault. What's disturbing is that he brushes his actions off as "locker room talk", leading us to ask if he even understands the definition of sexual assault, because if he did, he wouldn't be so openly admitting to it.
3. "When you're a star, you can do anything".
His response that "when you're a star, you can do anything" demonstrates his manipulation of power and dominance. If he says this before becoming President, what will he do with the added power of being the President of the United States? And what does he think he can get away with doing to women, being the President? His words should frighten and alarm everyone.
4. The Excuse of "Locker Room Banter" is Harmful to Men Too.
The men I know, don't talk this way about women. It shows a utter disrespect to women, as a whole. Trump's comments are disgraceful to all the men who respect women because it normalizes this specific "locker room talk" as being something that is so common and acceptable, that it doesn't merit any consequences. Michelle Obama replied to this comment by saying that "to dismiss it as locker room talk is an insult to decent men everywhere". It also leads to "Toxic Masculinity", the concept of what it means "to be a man" in our culture has for so long, depicted womanizers and sexually violent men as the epitome of masculinity, enough to where many boys fear going to college "still a virgin". Donald Trump is THE epitome of Toxic Masculinity. [Read it here]
[watch it here]
5. It Demonstrates the Over-Sexualization, Objectification, and Disrespect of Women.
In Donald Trump's comments, he blatantly objectifies women, making it seem as if their bodies are the only thing of value. His words are so hyper-sexualized, demeaning women down to their genitalia. And his words were said in such a violent way, that many women felt threatened by them. In an article released by the New York Times, Trump's words were so obscene, they brought back memories of sexual assault and abuse for many women, who expressed their feelings of disgust and fear over social media. It boils down to the disrespect of women. These words are harmful to not just women, but society.The normalization of such "banter" makes it seem as if it's okay, in America, to hyper-sexualize, objectify, and disrespect women.
[Read it here]
"Locker Room talk" has been acceptable in our society for too long. Here's why it needs to stop:
1. "Locker Room Talk" Promotes Rape Culture.
Rape Culture is the idea, coined in 1970 by Feminists, as the normalization of sexualized violence by society. Author Emily Buchwald defines it in her book, Transforming a Rape Culture, as "a complex set of beliefs that encourage male sexual aggression and supports violence against women...In a rape culture, women perceive a continuum of threatened violence that ranges from sexual remarks to sexual touching to rape itself. A rape culture condones physical and emotional terrorism against women as the norm...and both men and women assume that sexual violence is a fact of life, inevitable".
By allowing there to be no consequences for Donald Trump's actions, and furthermore, allowing him to still run for President of the United States, we are doing just that. We are condoning his behavior, we are furthering the ideology that it is acceptable for men to show sexual aggression, harassment, and violence against women.
2. Trump's "Locker Room Talk" isn't just disgusting, it's illegal.
Not only is this unacceptable, it's illegal. What Donald Trump is describing is sexual assault. Talking about grabbing women by their genitalia IS sexual assault. What's disturbing is that he brushes his actions off as "locker room talk", leading us to ask if he even understands the definition of sexual assault, because if he did, he wouldn't be so openly admitting to it.
3. "When you're a star, you can do anything".
His response that "when you're a star, you can do anything" demonstrates his manipulation of power and dominance. If he says this before becoming President, what will he do with the added power of being the President of the United States? And what does he think he can get away with doing to women, being the President? His words should frighten and alarm everyone.
4. The Excuse of "Locker Room Banter" is Harmful to Men Too.
The men I know, don't talk this way about women. It shows a utter disrespect to women, as a whole. Trump's comments are disgraceful to all the men who respect women because it normalizes this specific "locker room talk" as being something that is so common and acceptable, that it doesn't merit any consequences. Michelle Obama replied to this comment by saying that "to dismiss it as locker room talk is an insult to decent men everywhere". It also leads to "Toxic Masculinity", the concept of what it means "to be a man" in our culture has for so long, depicted womanizers and sexually violent men as the epitome of masculinity, enough to where many boys fear going to college "still a virgin". Donald Trump is THE epitome of Toxic Masculinity. [Read it here]
[watch it here]
5. It Demonstrates the Over-Sexualization, Objectification, and Disrespect of Women.
In Donald Trump's comments, he blatantly objectifies women, making it seem as if their bodies are the only thing of value. His words are so hyper-sexualized, demeaning women down to their genitalia. And his words were said in such a violent way, that many women felt threatened by them. In an article released by the New York Times, Trump's words were so obscene, they brought back memories of sexual assault and abuse for many women, who expressed their feelings of disgust and fear over social media. It boils down to the disrespect of women. These words are harmful to not just women, but society.The normalization of such "banter" makes it seem as if it's okay, in America, to hyper-sexualize, objectify, and disrespect women.
[Read it here]
His words are a big deal. We need a leader who is championing for the rights of half it's citizens, not brushing off sexual assault as if it's normal or "okay". He CANNOT be our President. He actions MUST BE MET WITH CONSEQUENCES.
Step down, Donald. We don't want or need you as the figurehead of our Great Nation. It's about time you lived with the consequences of your actions and faced some disciplinary action for the damage you've done to others, for once in your life.
Step down, Donald. We don't want or need you as the figurehead of our Great Nation. It's about time you lived with the consequences of your actions and faced some disciplinary action for the damage you've done to others, for once in your life.
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