Liberal Forum

‘And So Are You’: Trump, Misogyny, and the Dangerous Precedent Set by This Election

On my way to a feminist pro-choice debate watch party a few weeks ago, I experienced firsthand the sort of behavior that Donald Trump bragged about on the 2005 tapes published by the Washington Post earlier this month. As a survivor of physical and sexual assault, this election has been incredibly difficult for me—but little did I know that it wouldn’t be the news cycle that would prove to be its most triggering aspect.

I was wearing my Clinton/Kaine shirt I’d purchased a few weeks prior. While waiting at an intersection to cross the street, a man approached me from behind, placed his hand on my waist, and leaned in to whisper in my right ear.

“Hillary Clinton’s a **** **** and so are you,” he said, his voice seething with disgust.

I froze in the moment, immediately having flashbacks of a past assault: memories of being pinned against a wall and having one man punch me in the face while calling me a “****,” a “dyke,” and a “queer” repeatedly while another two watched.

By the time I was jolted back to reality, the man was gone, blurred into the crowd of tourists and suits on Fifth Avenue. There was nothing to be done. I knew going after him would do nothing because there were hundreds of people on the street, and I never saw his face. I knew his hatred of women ran deeper than I could imagine, and it was most likely not safe for me to take any more action in that moment.

And then I went on with my life, as so many of us do.