You're Going To Hear Us Roar: The Unexpected Rise Of Women Under Trump

From the start, Trump’s presidency looked set to be bad news for women. This is a man who demoralizes women at every turn. His views on abortion laws and his comments about women, in general, have left the whole world astounded. Perhaps one of the most shocking incidents among the many being when he said sexual abuse in the military was all that could be expected when you put men and women together. It should come as no surprise, then, that women have been taking to the streets in protest ever since he took the White House. Let us not forget how women across the world took to the streets just hours after Trump was sworn in as president. Women were afraid, and they had good reason to be. Trump’s time in power looks to be a step backwards for female rights in all manner of different ways, not least because of the Twitter updates he makes about female opponents. There’s a real and pressing view that, if our president’s doing it, other people will too.

With the midterm elections just behind us, though, it seems as though Trump’s treatment of women has had a surprising impact. Far from taking our voices from us, Trump appears to have inadvertently given women more impetuous than ever before. The midterm election results certainly indicate that much. A record number of nearly 100 women won seats in the house during the vote two weeks ago. That number includes the first Native American and Muslim women ever to win seats during an election. We even now have female candidates from both Arizona and Tennessee. What’s more, these are by no means silent party members. Figures like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are using their anger to propel themselves to the forefront of politics. Ocasio-Cortez fights both to give women voice, and to represent the working classes. Two areas of the population which look set to struggle under Trump. This month has also seen the soaring success of Michelle Obama’s book. This is a loud shout from yet another woman in the political sphere.

It’s not only within politics that women are shouting louder than ever before. The #metoo movement also started during the age of Trump, and even men in high places are now facing up to the abuses they’ve committed. While Trump has continually mocked the movement, that hasn’t made a bit of difference in ensuring these cries for help are resulting in endless convictions across the world. No longer do women have to suffer in silence. Despite a president who would seemingly rather silence women for good, we’re finding our voices in significant ways right now. Perhaps, in part, because we were at risk of losing them for a while.

Of course, there are still plenty of obstacles which stand in the way of female rights, especially within the political sphere. Trump himself continues to trivialize any issue regarding women. There are even many who claim that the female seats won in the midterms were won through shady dealings. There have been claims, for instance, that Smartmatic Electronic Voting Machines are part owned by Soros. Soros has made no secret about his support towards the democratic party, where the majority of female seats were gained. Even though this accusation has no grounding, many argue that votes like these were rigged and are thus irrelevant.

There have also been conspiracies floating around regarding Ocasio-Cortez and her backstory. Without any grounds, many claim that she fabricated her origins to make herself a more sympathetic political figure. Again, these conspiracies have been disproven, but many still use them to discredit her hard-earned place in the political sphere.

Conspiracies aside, though, it’s fair to say that women are coming out on top right now, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. There’s no denying that a president like Trump could have reversed many of the female rights we’ve fought so hard for up to this point. There have certainly been times when his presidency has resembled something out of the Handmaid’s Tale. But, the way things are progressing suggests that he’s chosen the wrong group to mess with. Far from rolling over and accepting a lessened role in society, women are rising up more than they have before. While Trump continues his attempts to silence the female population, we’re all taken this chance to stand up and roar louder than we ever did in the past. To make things better, the world seems to be hearing our call.

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