Study reports a rise in misogynistic comments and posts from young men following the election results.

Commentary

By Tori Goins | Edited by Annalucia Scotto di Clemente

Trump’s re-election has certainly shifted the cultural landscape. It has brought fringe groups and ideologies into light, ones that have always existed but feel more emboldened to speak now that an open misogynist is our president again.    

Just when we thought we could be done with him, he has come back for four more years. Trump is a convicted felon, insurrectionist, and an abuser. Twenty-seven different women have accused him of sexual abuse. He is endorsed by white supremacists and misogynists. And now he’s going to be president again. How lovely! 

His win is a devastating blow for women. This is the man who appointed the three justices that overturned Roe v. Wade, stripping women of their right to an abortion. He brags about this “win” and says has “no regrets” regarding the overturn. Trump has made disgusting comments about his daughter, saying if they weren’t related maybe they’d be dating. He has admitted he feels entitled to grab women by their private parts non-consensually. 

It is painfully obvious how Trump feels about women. During his campaign against Kamala Harris, he called her dumb, pathetic, incompetent, slow, a monster, and nasty. He consistently uses this rhetoric when talking about women; he degrades them and compares them to animals. This is how he spoke about Stormy Daniels, Hillary Clinton, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, among others. 

In the weeks leading up to the election, a handful of Trump’s accusers participated in interviews, urging the nation to vote the right way. Reporter Natasha Stoynoff was asked in an MSNBC interview what message it is sending with him being sent back to the White House. I want to highlight her response:  

“It’s telling our next generation of women that we don’t care about them,” says Stoynoff. “We don’t care if they’re abused, we don’t care if they have any independence over their bodies. It’s taking us back into another time.” 

Her words struck deep with me, electing a misogynistic abuser to the White House is telling women exactly that. Imagine how the 27 women who have accused him feel- seeing their abuser rise into power again? 

And while this decision is telling women that our country doesn’t care about us, I also believe it is telling men so much more. It’s telling them that they can be misogynistic, racist, and an abuser, and still become president of the United States! It’s telling them that that behavior is okay, and we are already seeing the effects his victory is having in online spaces. 

Misogyny and the online radicalization of young men have been growing in recent years, and Trump being reelected has empowered misogynists even more. 

We’re already seeing a rise in misogynistic comments and posts from young men after the election results.  

Here are a few statistics I discovered: 

According to a study by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, in the 24 hours after Trump was elected, there was a 4,600% increase in mentions of the terms “your body, my choice” and “get back in the kitchen” on X, formerly Twitter.  

On Facebook, the phrase “your body, my choice” was also trending, with 52,000 posts in the 24 hours after Trump’s win. 

On TikTok, the phrase “your body, my choice” can be seen across women’s comment sections. Audio from a famous white supremacist who I’d rather not name was also trending across TikTok. He said things like “Men win again” and “We will keep you down forever. You will never control your own bodies.” According to CTV news, videos with this audio were viewed more than 90 million times and reposted more than 35,000 times. 

It’s disgusting that men like this have a platform, but it is sadly unavoidable. And now that Trump is re-elected, men no longer have to keep their hatred for women silent. Having Trump as president-elect emboldens them.  

I think his win is going to change a lot in society, and not just in the Unites States. What’s important now is that we stay vigilant and educated. 

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