I don’t believe that anything I can say that has not been said about Donald Trump’s video.
I don’t think that there is a way to say how angry I was.
Some of my anger is related to all of the politicians that denounced the Republican nominee. Great, they denounced him, and I think that it should have occurred a lot sooner, but one thing that I took away from this is that my worth is apparently tied to how I relate to the men in my life.
Almost every politician mentioned they have a wife, a mother, a sister, a daughter or any female relative in the book that should be “revered and cherished.” While I appreciate the sentiment, I don’t think having a relation to a man should be necessary for people to finally denounce a statement that is so overtly sexually aggressive.
First, I want to clarify that sexual assault is not a women’s issue.
While women are more likely to be sexually assaulted, men are affected by sexual assault and oftentimes are more likely to not report their actions due to shame.
When any politician, speechwriter, person says that they cannot accept sexual assault because of their female relationships, what are they saying about male relationships? What about having sons? Or what about just knowing that people undergo sexual assault?
Most of my friends have had a personal story about sexual harassment or sexual assault. That includes both men and women.
By solely mentioning sexual assault as it relates to female relatives, we are diminishing all of the the stories of silent survivors, whether male or female.
While my concern for all survivors is one of my major problems with the response to Trump’s comments, that’s not even my biggest problem.
It’s the fact that he consistently talks about women in relation to men.
I am fine being called my parent’s daughter or my brother’s sister, or even someone’s girlfriend. However, I only want to be referred to in that way a few times. I am more than all of those labels.
I am a student, a hiker, a runner, an avid book reader and a columnist.
