Every election season has its share of tense moments, but this election has been the most divisive and hateful in recent memory. There has been a fair share of mudslinging between supporters on both sides. Recently, however, Trump supporters crossed the line between disagreement and disrespect with the Twitter hashtag #RepealThe19th. For those who are not familiar, the “19th” mentioned in the hashtag is a reference to the 19th amendment, which grants women the right to vote.
The offensive hashtag began circulating in response to an infographic that had been tweeted out shortly before. The graphic showed a map depicting what the outcome of the election would be if only women voted, with Clinton winning by an overwhelming lead. Trump supporters responded by hurling insults at women alongside the hashtag #RepealThe19th.
In any other situation, the idea of stripping roughly half the country’s population of their right to vote would be viewed with abject horror. In this election, however, the vile suggestion is just a drop in the bucket. The hashtag, while disappointing, is hardly surprising, coming on the heels of Trump’s cavalier comments about forcibly grabbing women without their consent. His supporters did not respond with the shock or anger one might expect. Instead, they defended Trump’s crude, predatory remarks, dismissing them as “locker room talk.”
Much of Trump’s popularity is rooted in the hatred and aggression that is the foundation of his campaign. The climate of this election has gone far beyond the typical clashes of opinion, it has gone beyond politics in general. Trump’s fear-mongering rhetoric has brought out the worst in many conservative voters by playing on their worst fears and deepest prejudices. This is especially evident when looking at social media.
Many of the comments on sites like Facebook and Twitter seem out of place in the year 2016. The rampant misogyny and derision being displayed by many Trump supporters is reminiscent of the early 1900s; when women did not have the right to vote, and many wanted to keep it that way. The desire to keep women from voting and the nature of the insults being used bear a striking resemblance to the sexist propaganda that was prevalent in the early 20th century. Women have had the right to vote for nearly a century, yet the comments from many Trump supporters and those from decades old anti-women propaganda could be easily interchanged.
There are several examples of recent comments that closely echo the climate of misogyny in the early 1900s. When comparing the insults of the past with those of the present, a common theme quickly emerges: women shouldn’t have a voice. Throughout the past year, Hillary Clinton’s voice has been called shrill, sharp, and lecturing, to name a few. She has also been criticized for being too loud, talking too much, and for having an overall ‘unappealing’ voice. One Trump supporter tweeted out “if I have to listen to this vile harpy hector and nag America for 8 years I will stab my eardrums out.” Many men in the early 20th century shared this sentiment, and advertisements often focused on silencing women. One such ad features a woman with a lock on her lips and a cage preventing her from opening her mouth, with the words “peace at last.”
When women first fought for the right to vote, it was often said that women couldn’t be trusted with such important decisions. Propaganda often portrayed women as fickle and frivolous. The grotesque idea that women are too silly and capricious to be trusted with a vote is clearly alive and well, as evidenced by another Trump fan who wrote “give out nice enough handbags and most broads would gladly trade their voting rights for one.” Between the dismissive tone and the casual use of a derogatory term like ‘broad’ it’s hard to believe this was written in the year 2016.
Perhaps the most enduring method of belittling and dismissing women was, and is, to attack their appearance and/or marital status. It is an effective method for two reasons; it allows men to quickly invalidate a woman’s opinion without actually hearing or disproving it, and it reinforces that idea that a woman’s worth is determined by how beautiful she is. Many of the advertisements in the early 1900s featured an ugly woman or women accompanied by phrases like “suffragettes who have never been kissed” or “at 15 a little pet, at 20 a little coquette, at 40 not married yet, at 50 a suffragette.” Sadly, nearly 100 years later, this tactic is still used. Trump is notoriously fond of calling women fat and ugly in order to demean and silence them.