“Your Body, My Choice”: Attacks On Women Continue To Grow After Trump’s Win

Sexist attacks on women have increased since Trump was deemed the 47th President of the U.S. Photo Credit: Jen Murphy Packer

In the hours following the announcement that Donald Trump would be the 47th president of the U.S., a surplus of misogynist comments, posts and videos flooded a plethora of social media outlets. These posts were blatantly attacking and degrading women as a way to celebrate Trump’s victory.

Some of the most frequent statements made involved calls for a decrease in women’s rights and threats of sexual assault and harassment.

A majority of the sexist attacks have been centered around the phrase “your body, my choice,” which began circulating through social media on Nov 6., when white nationalist and Trump supporter Nick Fuentes posted a TikTok creating the sexist phrase. 

This phrase is a play on the popular feminist rallying cry for advocates of reproductive freedom, “my body, my choice,” which has been around for decades. 

The phrase surged in use shortly after Fuentes posted “Your body, my choice. Forever,” on his X profile. In fact, “your body, my choice” was posted thousands of times in the week following the election. 

The Institute for Strategic Dialogue found a 4,600% increase in the mentions of the phrase “your body, my choice,” “get back in the kitchen” and “repeal the 19th Amendment” on social media platforms, peaking at over 12,000 mentions on the Friday after election day. There were also reports of people using misogynistic language to harass women offline as well.

Parents and students alike across the nation have reported groups of boys chanting at and harassing girls in schools, mainly in high schools and universities. “Today my daughter was told three separate times on campus ‘your body, MY choice.’ The third group of boys told her to ‘sleep with one eye open tonight,’” commented a parent on social media.

Additionally, merchandise including t-shirts and hats with the phrase “your body, my choice” have begun to pop up on e-commerce sites.

These phrases are not just harmless Internet banter, but the language of sexual violence and misogyny.

“Your body, my choice” sprouting just a mere few hours after Trump became the president-elect represents the regression-filled era that America is about to enter. Many Americans are not even attempting to hide their horrifically sexist views. In fact, it seems as though they feel more comfortable doing so since Trump won against Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris. 

It was no secret that gender had a huge role in the 2024 presidential election, but in the days following, it became evident that it is also no secret that gender has a huge role in everyday life as well. 

Just because women are used to sexist comments, as well as being morally degraded, that does not mean this treatment is excusable. This next Trump era will be interesting, to say the least, and no. No, Trump has not addressed the onslaught of sexist treatment towards women from his supporters. But, are we really shocked?

Ladies, keep your shoes on in hope because one day, the glass ceiling will be shattered at your feet! Sadly though, for the next four years, that ceiling seems to be well intact.