This is Not Okay

Amaya Holliday
Since August 18th, 1920, women have had the right to vote. Women were finally created equal
on paper. Since then, American women have finally become more equal, but comments made by
Donald Trump reverse women progressing. Businessman Donald Trump announced his run for
presidency on June 15th, 2015. Since then, he has called women pigs, rated us by appearance,
and never apologized for sexually harassing women. He even neglected to apologize for his
comment, I can go up and grab them by the pussy. This is not okay.
A man with this much influence should not be permitted to sexually assault women without
suffering consequences. Young boys look up to rich, powerful men like Trump and want to be
like him. When Trump calls women pigs and implies that one can grab women without their
consent, he is spreading the message that those actions are acceptable. Also, Trump is spreading
the message to young girls that it is okay for men to take advantage of them. If this behavior is
condoned by the President of the United States, many American children will grow up idolizing
and replicating this degrading mindset.

Trump is now threatening to sue the women who have courageously come forward with their
stories of his assault. Again, what kind of messages does this send to other women who have
been sexually assaulted? It shows victims who try to seek justice could be punished. Trump
shows no compassion to women affected by assault or to women who have been a victim of
assault or gender degradation. According to the New York Times, one in five women have said
they had been raped or had experienced an attempted rape at some point, and one in four
reported having been beaten by an intimate partner. This horrifying statistic demonstrates one of
our nations most debilitating shadow. Trump is intensifying this. By passing off his comments as
locker room talk, Trump is minimizing sexual assault and reinforcing the idea that it is OK to
disrespect women.
Trump claims no one has more respect for women than him. That is false! The fact that he says
these words are baffling because he in fact is amplifying rape culture. Jill Gallenstein, a retail
executive, wrote about Trumps locker room talk on Facebook. She said, its the dismissing of
this behavior because its the way it has always been. Its justifying the behavior because other
powerful men have done it too. Locker room talk normalizes this behavior.
Sexual assault is a big deal! The long term ramifications can lead to depression, anxiety, PTSD,
and suicide. The exponential consequences women may suffer are well documented and
undeniable.
Students at Liberty University, a Christian college, have created an organization called Students
Against Trump. Students of Liberty do not want to be associated with anyone or any institution
that speaks nonchalantly about sexual assault. On college campuses sexual assault is too
common. Many students and professors are working towards changing that and they know a vote
for Trump is a step in the wrong direction.
Touching anyone without their consent is not okay. Nobody should ever speak of or violate
anyone, especially not someone who could hold the most powerful office in the world. A USA
Today poll shows Hillary Clinton leads Donald Trump by 62% in voters ages 18 to 34. Young
voters are done with Trumps barbaric rhetoric. The nation should be done with Donald J.
Trumps 14th century thinking. On November the 8th vote for equal gender rights, vote for
ending the rape culture, vote Hillary Clinton.