What Would A Trump Victory Mean For Our Daughters?

There's been a lot of talk about history being made for our daughters with Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton — it's a big deal to have a woman potentially become President of the United States. But what would a Trump victory mean for our daughters?

I have a 2-year-old daughter, and when I look at her and think about Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump winning, I literally feel sick. With The New York Times predicting a Trump victory, all of the things he's said against women come bubbling to the surface. It's no secret that the things he's done and said have caused an uproar in his campaign — The Huffington Post compiled a list of some of the things Trump has said, including that Megyn Kelly was "bleeding out of her wherever" when he didn't like her debate questions, that "the second amendment people" could do something if Clinton won the election, and, of course, that now infamous Access Hollywood video where he claimed that he could grab women "by the p*ssy" because he was a star.

(Let's just note, that with that video, Access Hollywood host Billy Bush was fired from TODAY show. However, Trump is still running for President of the United States.)

But still, Trump's supporters continued to say they would vote for him for president. According to CNN, Trump labeled his comments describing sexual assault in the Access Hollywood video as "locker room talk" and his supporters jumped all over it. They insisted that all men talked that way, that they were "just words", and that they didn't mean anything.

I'm a parent. Words mean everything.

How can I tell my daughter that it's not OK for someone to grab her, to touch her, to kiss her, if the POTUS says it's no big deal? How can I explain to her that she deserves to be respected, that no one should call her fat, or say that she doesn't deserve success because of the way she looks if the POTUS has done all of those things? How can I teach her that her body is her body, that she is the only person with control over it, when Trump wants to punish her if she ever has an abortion?

What would a Trump victory mean for my daughter? It would mean fear. It would mean listening to a misogynistic man be in control of our country, in control of the laws that are supposed to protect her, and in control of the laws that give her responsibility of her own body. It means the POTUS has, according to Time, called a breastfeeding woman "disgusting". It means treating her as if she was second rate because she has a period, because she doesn't fit his idea of beauty, because she gains weight.

It means making America "great" again. Like when women knew their place and didn't speak up and were seen and not heard.

I haven't even touched on all of the sexual assault allegations against Trump. So many women have come forward, but as CNN noted, Trump refuses to acknowledge their accusations. Instead, he insisted that he is the victim here and that all of the women coming forward are basically part of a smear campaign.

What does that say to my daughter? What does that say to all of the women in this country? I've seen way too many Trump supporters argue that the women are only coming forward now for recognition. "If they were really assaulted, why didn't they come forward when it happened? They're just doing it for attention."

A Trump victory means feeling disrespected and having Trump supporters perpetuate that disrespect because, guess what? They can if the POTUS can, right? But it also means perpetuating rape culture. It means blaming girls for their sexual assault. It means not believing them because a louder man in the room shouted "wrong" and interrupted them over and over.

It means having a man who is not qualified whatsoever beat your daughter out for a job she has worked her entire life for because he was the loudest voice in the room.

A Trump victory means h*ll for my daughter. But it also means I become even more of an advocate for her and for every other little girl in this country. Because POTUS or not, he's still a man who thinks he's entitled to something and I refuse to let his presidency or his supporters think they are entitled to my daughter or anything she's worked for.