As a female, I have learned to avert my eyes when the cat-calling reaches my ears as I walk down the street. As a female, I have learned to park under street lights and carry my keys in my hand as I walk to my car, the metal mercilessly biting into my fingers. As a female, I have learned to cross my legs when I sit down, wear shorts under my dresses and skirts, and I have been well-trained in all of the excuses to use when "no" doesn't suffice. I have become an expert in the art of being unobtrusive, of hiding my problems and my voice for fear of being accused of PMS-ing. I have learned all of this under a liberal president, under legislators and activists that have worked tirelessly to break the glass ceiling and secure women's rights. Frightening, isn't it?
As of November 8th, it has become apparent that I will not be able to retire this knowledge any time soon. I do not know for sure what it will be like to have Donald Trump in office. I cannot foresee the future and there is no telling what the next four years will hold. However, given Donald Trump's all-too-obvious opinions and ideas about women, I will admit that I am beyond worried. Donald Trump is yet another under-qualified man who has been chosen over a woman with experience and expertise in the field for a very important job. He has been accused of sexual assault, fraud, and has degraded women time and time again. To Trump, a strong woman who states her opinion is "nasty". In his eyes, women are sexual objects, who will allow men to do whatever they want to them, especially if those men are famous. Perhaps these misogynistic views were a facade put on for media attention. I sincerely hope so, because to tell the truth, I am scared.
By this time next year, I will be a college freshman. I am well aware of the preexisting campus rape culture that exists in our nation, but I am terrified that with Donald Trump supporting "locker room talk" and grabbing women without consent, things will get so much worse. I am petrified that everything I have worked so hard for--my education, my life goals, my dreams, my strong sense of independence--will come second to my status as a woman. I know that I am much more than my body. But, will the silent majority of Americans agree? Will Donald Trump?
I am allowed to be fearful of the future. I am allowed to be repulsed and disgusted by Donald Trump's views on women and the fact that the majority of Americans must agree with him. However, I will not allow myself to give up hope. The America I know is accepting of all people, regardless of gender or race. It is the land of the free and the home of the brave. And despite everything, I will be brave.
In the future, I will not fall prey to the "minimization" of my problems and voice that I have learned over the course of my life as a woman. I will speak out against injustice and I will not be taken advantage of. I will not be silenced. The women I know are all strong, intelligent, determined, gutsy people. We will fight for our rights-to our bodies, our wages, our jobs- and one day we will be seen as equals. We will vote and we will protest and we will battle until we are heard. We will be fierce. So get ready, President Trump. This is our America too, and we will persevere, no matter what you say. You have a nation full of "nasty" women ready to rise above the degradation. I hope that you are too.
