During the final presidential debate that took place on October 19th, Donald Trump called Hilary Clinton a “Nasty Woman”, and he clearly did not mean it as a compliment. However, women all over are taking it very differently. Just moments after Trump muttered those words into his microphone, #NastyWoman started trending on Twitter and within hours “Nasty Woman” merchandise was available to purchase.
So why and how did this phrase, intended to be an insult, end up acting as a female empowerment movement?
Well, since the beginning of time men have been insulting powerful women. If a woman does not fit into the expected stereotype of being humble, cooperative and supportive, and instead shows stereotypically “male attributes” – such as being strong, confident and intelligent – then she becomes a target to be attacked, insulted and undermined. We have all been there. We have all either been called or implied to be a “nasty woman” at some point. Think about it, have you ever been at a bar or a party and have a man approach you and give you a compliment? It might be sweet, but nevertheless you are not interested so you let him know and all of the sudden he starts telling you how “you are ugly anyway, I would be doing you a favor sleeping with you..” blah blah blah… and in that way he is informing you that you are a “Nasty Woman.”
However, women have had enough. As Amanda Briukman, Google Ghost shirt designer, explained “If ‘Nasty Woman’ is going to be used to describe our likely next president, then maybe we sould wear it as a badge of honor.” And so that is what women all over are doing. Sophia Amarouso, founder and former CEO of Nasty Gal, said “Hillary is a Nasty Woman in, like, the best way possible…She stands by her beliefs. She keeps showing up,” and if that is what a “Nasty Woman” is, then maybe we should all become ‘Nasty’ women.
In responce to all the commotion surrounding Trumps comment, HuffPost Women asked women on twitter if and why they identify as a “Nasty Woman” in relation to Hillary Clinton and the responces were incredible:
Overall, Nasty Woman is code for: intellegent, confident, hard-working, prepared, experienced and strong. So in the end every woman should asprire to be a “Nasty Woman”; to show her true colors; to work hard and accomplish her dreams; to build an empire; to love herself; to be independent; to be powerful. Most importantly, to be herself.
As perfectly summed up by Arwa Mahdawi, from The Guardian, “Nasty women speak up too much. They are too ambitious. Too aggressive.They have opinions. They voice their opinions… Nice Girls let men do the talking. Nice Girls do not complain. Nice Girls know their place… And Nice Girls definitely do not run for president.”