Recently, a video from 2005 depicting Donald Trump making extremely vulgar statements regarding his actions towards women has resurfaced, causing tremendous uproar.
As a celebrity, he felt entitled to touching and/or groping women without their consent. "When you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything," he asserts confidently aboard his Access Hollywood bus. Trump smugly describes, in detail, his unwarranted advances on women, using several expletives, much to the assent of his gaggle of dudes. Since the video's release, Trump has released an apology, explaining that the statements he had made in the video do not define him. At the most recent presidential debate on October 9, he has written off these crass statements as "locker room banter."
For the first time, however, Trump is now receiving severe backlash from the Republican Party. Sen. Paul Ryan has withdrawn an invitation to have Trump appear alongside him in Wisconsin, saying that he is "sickened" by the man's actions. Many of the Republican figures have expressed their desire for Trump's apology as well.
Gender is such an important facet of this election. Hillary Clinton is the first woman on a major ticket, bringing gender politics to a new level of prominence. Trump's key demographic is white men; he fails spectacularly in bringing in the votes from women of any ethnicity. Would this issue have been as prominent if Clinton was not the opposing candidate?
Growing up in a society that is rapidly banishing the archaic ways in which women are treated, I find Trump's comments deplorable. Even more so, the fact that this kind of behavior is perpetuated in a man that intends to run this country. His comments ring of harassment and rape culture. Though he apologizes for his actions in a video released this past Saturday, he adds that this video is "nothing more than a distraction." Clinton's powerful presence in this election has generated a change in the way we understand gender politics and people are realizing that Trump's juvenile actions are indicative of large character flaws.
The fact that Trump dismisses these comments as "locker room banter" and "distractions" undercuts the prominence of the gender gap, especially in the political sphere. These comments are not without ramifications; they are a perpetuation of violence and objectification of women. A possible argument might be that these comments can happen behind closed doors, amongst friends, but would never be acted upon in real life. The fact is, however, that we should not be making allowances for any spaces to support this type of talk. Men can do so much to stop the perpetuation of gendered violence; understanding the privilege inherent in their sex and using that to abolish negative spaces such as the proverbial "locker room" is so important to advancements in gender dynamics.
We should not overlook this event or any of Trump's actions. These do not occur in a vacuum, nor are they innocent or thoughtless. Trump is an embodiment of dated gender views that are on their way out of the cultural zeitgeist. To support those views through a position as powerful as The President of the United States would be a dangerous, regressive step in gender issues.
