2018 Election and Gender

The 2016 election had a huge impact on a lot of social justice issues. It shown a light on many topics, that were maybe not spoken about as much before. Women, particularly those effected by sexual assault, were moved to action by the president’s words and rhetoric, to speak out about these injustices, and to run for office. Women have long been attacked by men in spots of privilege and power, and we are starting to take that power back. The outcome of the 2016 election fired up passionate women in the Democratic Party, to run for office in 2018, and to vote in those who truly represent them. 

     In the article by Stacy Abrams, we see women having to defend their right to even run, within their own party. Instead of the party welcoming diversity, they were trying to stifle it, for fear of being beaten by the opposite party. Women are starting to challenge the incumbents because they are sick of the status quo. The article goes into talk about a lot of amazing women who are running in races where they are not thought to be “viable” candidates. Nevertheless, these women push through because even if they lose, they have maybe made it easier for the next woman. It is a community fight. This article made me think of Unlearning the Myths that Bind Us. For so long we have had this one idea of politicians, and women have typically been removed from that. Just like we are not simply princesses in a cartoon, we are also able to be part of the political arena. 

     The Soloway article was a very powerful read. I remember having the same reaction as her to the Access Hollywood tape. It was disgusting and awful, but at least now people will know how gross Trump is (not that that ended up mattering...). But then people actually started defending locker room talk and it broke my soul a little. The author also shares my sentiment of how can men be allies to women while talking about them as if they are objects behind closed doors. This election highlighted, to many women, that we need to keep fighting for our right to be in the same space as men without being treated as though we belong to them. I also found it interesting how when the author asked her male friends if they called out people shaming women as they would someone using racist terms they said no. I think this has a lot to do with how accepting we are of toxic masculinity and locker room talk. Boys will be boys they say, but all that does is pave the way for the Brock Turners of the world to think it is ok to have sex with an unconscious women because consequences don’t exist to them. The Me Too movement has begun to hold men to their actions and create an idea that if you do something harmful to women, it will be shouted about. Men who abuse power are no longer entitled to a safe space. And again, although the outcome of the 2016 election was anti- feminist, it did help fire up a feminist movement that may not have existed otherwise. This article had me thinking of “11 and Gender Fluid”. This young girl is fighting her own feminist battle by deciding to take something masculine (like trousers, or a hat) and telling the world that she can be a woman and also use clothing that men would typically wear.