We kept telling each other — almost convincing ourselves — that it was subtle. Sure, there was bias against women, but it was “unconscious” bias, and awareness would make it go away. Yes, studies showed a glass ceiling, but that was because of the signals we were sending, and if we just dressed differently, or stood differently, or spoke differently at meetings, we could “lean” it all away. Then along came Donald Trump.
The backlash that followed Friday’s “Access Hollywood” outtake was fiercer than any of the many that have come before in this campaign. There were calls for Trump to step down, to replace himself with Pence, and some of those who had endorsed him (though, strikingly, hardly all) rescinded their support.
This raises the question of: Why now? Why is this the tipping point, rather than Trump’s offensive statements about Muslims, war heroes, the disabled? Why not his refusal to disavow blatant racists and anti-Semites? Why not his many other insulting remarks about women?
In part it’s because the conduct he is describing on an open mic is criminal — legally a sexual assault. That alone makes this different, but now add the fact that this latest comes after a particularly awful three weeks, what with his smearing of a beauty queen and the revelation of his tax forms. In part it’s because this is the culmination of 18 months, and something was bound to be the last straw. But mostly, I think, it’s because, for the first time, there simply is no excuse. Nearly all Trump’s previous controversies were ones for which he found an explanation, however tenuous his critics might have found it. The Khans attacked him first. There were actually a few crimes committed by immigrants. He was saving Machado’s job, and beauty queens are not supposed to gain weight.
In his not-quite-an-apology, Trump said that the incident happened more than 10 years ago. That would be a fair point if not for two things. First, he was nearly 60 years old, so it was hardly a youthful indiscretion; and all evidence — including his own words during this campaign — indicates that he still sees women as decorative sex objects. Second, and probably more important: Others out there have shown themselves to think like he does. Like a Greek parable, he has come to represent all the misogyny we as a country have stuck under our metaphorical rock.
In that way, perhaps, he has done us a favor, forcing us to confront all he has exposed. No, not all men talk or act like Donald Trump — in fact, the overwhelming number of men do not — nor do most men condone it. But some do — enough that we need to pay attention. The sexism (and racism and xenophobia) he and many of his supporters spout has been there all along, though we have desperately wanted to see it as something else. In his second non-apology last night, Trump called this “nothing more than a distraction” and asked that we all get back to the real issues at hand. It turns out that this is the real issue (or, certainly, one of many very real ones). Trump’s latest has meant we have to listen to him — really listen — and recognize all he represents and how entrenched is the sexism his comments have unearthed.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/maybe-tr...-entrenched-misogyny-really-is-184040971.html
The backlash that followed Friday’s “Access Hollywood” outtake was fiercer than any of the many that have come before in this campaign. There were calls for Trump to step down, to replace himself with Pence, and some of those who had endorsed him (though, strikingly, hardly all) rescinded their support.
This raises the question of: Why now? Why is this the tipping point, rather than Trump’s offensive statements about Muslims, war heroes, the disabled? Why not his refusal to disavow blatant racists and anti-Semites? Why not his many other insulting remarks about women?
In part it’s because the conduct he is describing on an open mic is criminal — legally a sexual assault. That alone makes this different, but now add the fact that this latest comes after a particularly awful three weeks, what with his smearing of a beauty queen and the revelation of his tax forms. In part it’s because this is the culmination of 18 months, and something was bound to be the last straw. But mostly, I think, it’s because, for the first time, there simply is no excuse. Nearly all Trump’s previous controversies were ones for which he found an explanation, however tenuous his critics might have found it. The Khans attacked him first. There were actually a few crimes committed by immigrants. He was saving Machado’s job, and beauty queens are not supposed to gain weight.
In his not-quite-an-apology, Trump said that the incident happened more than 10 years ago. That would be a fair point if not for two things. First, he was nearly 60 years old, so it was hardly a youthful indiscretion; and all evidence — including his own words during this campaign — indicates that he still sees women as decorative sex objects. Second, and probably more important: Others out there have shown themselves to think like he does. Like a Greek parable, he has come to represent all the misogyny we as a country have stuck under our metaphorical rock.
In that way, perhaps, he has done us a favor, forcing us to confront all he has exposed. No, not all men talk or act like Donald Trump — in fact, the overwhelming number of men do not — nor do most men condone it. But some do — enough that we need to pay attention. The sexism (and racism and xenophobia) he and many of his supporters spout has been there all along, though we have desperately wanted to see it as something else. In his second non-apology last night, Trump called this “nothing more than a distraction” and asked that we all get back to the real issues at hand. It turns out that this is the real issue (or, certainly, one of many very real ones). Trump’s latest has meant we have to listen to him — really listen — and recognize all he represents and how entrenched is the sexism his comments have unearthed.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/maybe-tr...-entrenched-misogyny-really-is-184040971.html
