Turning Back the Clock? Violence against Women and the Trump Administration

ABSTRACT

The Trump Administration has engaged in a systematic rolling back of protections, regulations, and a host of other social safety net programs for vulnerable people, leaving over half of the population in dismay while others celebrate archaic triumphs. In this context, our focus is limited to the Trump Administration’s efforts—through law and words—to turn back the clock for women. We examine the reinforcement of overt forms of inequality rooted in patriarchy through domestic law as well as Trump’s misogynistic attitude and language toward women. Given that his words hold a greater significance now that he is President of the United States, he has a “gold-plated” pulpit to share and spread his misogynistic hostile rhetoric and propaganda: anti-women objectification, devaluing, and demonization through hegemonic “wordfare” while feeding and fueling sexism across the country. We conclude by suggesting that Trump’s rhetoric and that of other leading political figures are contributing to a darker time for those not in the white elite heteronormative order with short and long term implications and harm. We caution that the current dangers posed by these attacks are entering us into an endemic misogynist normal: retroactively moving the Country back in time at a dangerous speed.

KEYWORDS:

• Misogyny
• political speech
• Trump
• patriarchy
• discourse

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. We use the term “propaganda” to mean the information given through political discourse that is “intended to persuade an audience to accept a particular idea or cause, often by using biased material or by stirring up emotions” (author unknown, n.d.).

2. We use the term “propaganda” to mean the information given through political discourse that is “intended to persuade an audience to accept a particular idea or cause, often by using biased material or by stirring up emotions” (author unknown, n.d.).