An Open Letter to Donald Trump and his “Locker Room Banter”

An Open Letter to Donald Trump,

Like many women in the United States, I’m jumping on the bandwagon and discussing the remarks that you so proudly made 11 years ago. In case you forgot, not only did you brag in vulgar terms about kissing and groping women, but you also mentioned how you tried to seduce a married woman. Want me to be more specific? “I moved on her, and I failed. I’ll admit it,” you said. “I did try and f— her. She was married.”

That’s okay though, right? Because according to you, “When you’re a star, they let you do it.” It’s almost like everything you should have learned from your parents as a young man was completely thrown out the window. Just when I thought you dug yourself the deepest hole humanly possible, you surprised me yet again, Mr. Trump.

“Grab them by the p—y. You can do anything.”

Woah, woah, woah. Let’s get one thing straight. That is not a way to approach a woman, nor is that a way to hit on her once she’s shown interest. That is nothing less than sexual assault. And if you followed through with your statements? Then you’re even worse of a man than I thought you were before.

Now, I understand that you may have been in the moment when you said these things. You needed an ego boost and you thought that these degrading comments would help you look manly in front of others. But when this video was released more than 11 years later, you didn’t just apologize “if anyone was offended,” but instead, you considered it a ‘distraction from the issues we are facing today.”

Let me tell you something, Mr. Trump, you may not realize this, but sexual assault against women is a major issue that women all over the world face daily. Have you not heard about the Brock Turner case or any of the other hundreds of thousands of rape cases? In a study conducted by the Department of Justice and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a survey found that 1 in 6 women had experienced an attempted rape or a completed rape. In the United States, a rape is reported nearly once every five minutes. Does this still not seem like an issue to you?

Not only do your statements show your true colors, but your words essentially condone the rape culture that thousands of women and men deal with day after day. And you’re going to write it off as “locker room banter?” You’ve got to be kidding me.

I may not be a man, but I can guarantee that what you said is not locker room talk. What you said is so much worse than that. Within a matter of minutes, you showed the entire world that you do not view women as valuable members of society, but instead, as objects.

And for those who write off what Trump said as locker room talk, I ask you to do one thing. Think about the words that Trump so proudly said and act as if he was saying those vulgar words about your mother, your sister or even your daughter. Does it seem like locker room talk anymore? Does it seem as easily forgivable? Are you able to play it off as a man just being a man?

Not only did you compare your comments to locker room talk, but then you had the audacity to call yourself a gentleman. Really…a gentleman? I may have only been on this earth for 22 years, but I think I can tell you a few things about a gentleman.

1. A gentleman doesn’t try to seduce a married woman.
2. A gentleman doesn’t refer to a woman as a b—-.
3. A gentleman doesn’t carry around a pack of Tic Tacs, just in case he gets the urge to start kissing nearby women, without even waiting.
4. A gentleman doesn’t use his popularity as an excuse to assault women.
5. A gentleman doesn’t “grab them [women] by the p—y,” when he finds someone attractive.
6. A gentleman doesn’t compare his vulgar and crude words to that of locker room banter and continue to compare his mistakes to others.

Based on these facts, I have come to one conclusion. You are not a gentleman, just like I am not an object. While thousands of civilians can turn a blind eye and pretend that your statements never even happened, I cannot. What you said will forever stay in my mind, and come Election Day, I will happily ignore your name on that ballot.

You are not a gentleman, nor do I ever want you to be my president.

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