Preface:

In writing this article, I claim to be neither a political expert nor am I endorsing any one presidential candidate. This piece is simply the viewpoint and legitimate concern of a young American woman in the face of a new leader of our great nation.

I was raised to be a strong, independent woman who respects herself and demands respect from others. So what am I to feel when one of the frontrunners for the Presidential Election of 2016 repeatedly degrades women on a public and regular basis? I can break it down to one word; confusion. Donald John Trump has been a public figure ever since I can remember. Mine, like many other families, watched The Apprentice on weekday nights and chuckled and shook our heads at the rhetoric carried out on the show which was all fun and games during the early 2000's when he was just an outspoken TV personality. But as of late, the situation has become much more serious. Trump has now become the presidential candidate of the Republican Party with the election being just a few short months away. So why the concern? Trump has had many direct misogynistic quotes that simply don't sit well with a young, independent woman of the 21st century.

Donald Trump has been hailed by many as being a strong, anti-conformist figure who is unaffected by the constraints of political correctness. On the surface, this sounds all well and good but all too often, this outspokenness borders (or just plain jumps the line of) disrespect. Here is a short list of things he has said out loud, publicly, and not in any way skewed or taken out of context;

"You know, it doesn’t really matter what [the media] write as long as you’ve got a young and beautiful piece of ass.”

"The only difference between me and the other candidates is that I'm more honest and my women are more beautiful"

“[Women:] You have to treat ’em like shit.”

To a female lawyer who needed a break to breastfeed: “You’re disgusting.”

"If Hillary Clinton can't satisfy her husband what makes her think she can satisfy America?"

In response to the Pentagon estimating that as many as 26,000 service members were assaulted, based on anonymous surveys, "What did these geniuses expect when they put men and women together?"

In regards to prenuptial agreements- “There are basically three types of women and reactions. One is the good woman who very much loves her future husband, solely for himself, but refuses to sign the agreement on principle. I fully understand this, but the man should take a pass anyway and find someone else. The other is the calculating woman who refuses to sign the prenuptial agreement because she is expecting to take advantage of the poor, unsuspecting sucker she’s got in her grasp. There is also the woman who will openly and quickly sign a prenuptial agreement in order to make a quick hit and take the money given to her.”

"She does have a very nice figure. I’ve said if Ivanka weren't my daughter, perhaps I'd be dating her."

The moral of my story is, if you are a woman, would you feel comfortable having a boss (or anyone for that matter) speaking to you in this way? Using these pejorative and degrading terms towards you when you are simply trying to do your job and be the best you can be? And if you are a male; put in your mind a picture of your daughter, your mother, your wife, your niece. Would you stand for a man calling her "fat slob," a "piece of ass,” or a "bimbo"? If she was running for president, how would you react to her running mate comparing her sexual capabilities to her ability to do her job? If your female loved one were sexually assaulted, would you just say, "that's what happens when you put men and women together"? But it's not a boss of a nine to five job and it's not some random creep on the streets, it is the man who we are putting forth as the face of our nation and the Commander in Chief of our military.This is no longer a matter of political correctness. It is a stance on how we as a nation decide to see and treat our women. Will we choose to see them as equals or will we see them as "a pretty picture on your knees"? It's your call, America. How will you choose to respond?