“Is this 2016 or 1916? Women fought for and won the right to vote. You can’t do a takesies-backsies.” — @hannahnprince (Twitter)
This past weekend an internet $#!*storm started as Nate Silver, editor-and-chief of FiveThirtyEight, posted what has turned out to be a controversial political graphic that depicted what the election map would look like if only female or male Americans were voting in the upcoming election.
From the Twitter page of Nate Silver, October 11 2016
This graphic, showing the election map forecast if only women were allowed to vote, was the primary focus of the Nate Silver’s article in FiveThirtyEight, “Election Update: Women Are Defeating Donald Trump.” The angle of the article is not particularly malicious. It gives a blunt explanation of the gender gap in the 2016 election. He does not mention women’s voting rights or the nineteenth amendment. Those comments came as a response to another graphic given in the article:
From the Twitter page of Nate Silver, October 11 2016
This map demonstrates the male-focused side of the gender gap. It shows that if only men were voting in the 2016 election, Donald Trump would win the presidency. Outraged that this was not reality, some men (and women) who support Trump took it upon themselves to start the trend #RepealThe19th. They started the hashtag in order to voice their outlandish opinion that women’s right to vote should be taken away. For those who do not know what the 19th Amendment is (you should!), it was added to the U.S. Constitution in 1920 and gave women the right to vote.
The 19th Amendment to the Constitution was a victory for women everywhere! A big step was taken towards gender equality in one of the largest and most developed nations in the world. That being said, women’s fight for equality is far from over. If one lesson could be learned from this election, weekend, and hashtag, it is that sexism and misogyny are well and alive in modern day USA.
Feminists March on 50th Anniversary of 19th Amendment, History
I do not foresee this right being taken away anytime soon, but the fact that such an idea could trend in 2016 is concerning. Women’s suffrage is more important than ever! Get to the polls, ladies. Your country needs you to.