If Orange Is The New Black, Women Are Screwed

You don’t have to be a “burn your bra” feminist, a liberal, a conservative, black, or white, to be completely terrified about what your world will look like after four years of a Trump presidency. You just have to be a woman. Young women and old women, our children and our grandmothers — no one will escape the undeniable misogyny that will undo 50 years of work in women’s equal rights. The ripple effect of a Trump presidency will trickle down from the government to the citizens of this country, shaking the very fabric of who we are and what we are striving to be in America: prosperous, free, and equal.

It is an unbelievable juxtaposition that we find ourselves in when considering our choices for president this November. One candidate has broken the glass ceiling by becoming the first ever female presidential nominee for a major party — a fighter for social justice and equality. The other candidate has proven time and again that he doesn’t like or support people of different genders, nationalities, and sexual preferences.

How will the world view women after listening to Trump spew misogynistic vitriol for four years, if he were to become president? Trump has called women fat, pigs, dogs, disgusting animals, degenerates, slobs, and uses derogatory terms such as bimbo and pussy. He has insulted breastfeeding women by calling them disgusting. When Hillary announced her presidential candidacy, Trump tweeted, “If Hillary Clinton can’t satisfy her husband, what makes her think she can satisfy America?” He tweeted about news anchor Megyn Kelly, “You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever.”

After four years of a president who has no respect for women, what will our young boys learn? Will they learn that women are nothing more than sexual objects who are only appreciated for their physical beauty? What will a Trump presidency teach our girls about self-worth? They will learn that their value lies in what they have to offer men for pleasure, rather than what they have to teach the world based on intellect and moral character.

In contrast, Clinton is running her campaign on empowerment. She said in a campaign speech in April, “My campaign is about building again those ladders of opportunity and empowerment so people can claim their own piece of the American dream.” Clinton’s message to young girls like mine? “I may become the world’s first woman president, but one of you is next.”

Under a Trump presidency, what will health care and child care look like in four years? It doesn’t look promising for working women. On Tuesday, Trump rolled out a “child care affordability plan” to address a hot topic for women and society as a whole. His proposal includes six weeks of maternity leave paid by unemployment, as well as tax breaks on child care for those who qualify. This is half as good as what we would see if Clinton’s proposals came to fruition. In four years under a Clinton administration, women will get 12 weeks of paid maternity leave and child care expenses capped at 10% of a family’s income — a real investment in the American family.

Trump’s new child care plan feels more like a veiled short-term concession to appease women voters rather than something he would ever put in place if he were to become president.

Who really believes that the man on record as saying, “Pregnant women are an inconvenience for a person that is running a business” and “Paid family leave will make America less competitive” would do anything to help working women?

If you are working under Trump right now and you are a woman, you will reportedly make 35% less than your male counterpart. In four years, would the gender wage gap be less significant under a Trump presidency? I scoured Trump’s website to find information on how Trump will address this problem, but there was nothing on his website about equality at all. But what I did find were comments made by Trump that swept the issue under the rug. Trump is on record as saying that he thinks that men and women make the same amount of money in the workplace as long as the woman is doing a good job. Except, sorry Trump, everyone knows that men make more money in the workplace than women. In 2015, women who worked full-time made only 79 cents for every dollar earned by men in nearly every occupation, a significant gender wage gap of 21%.

But the truth is that Trump doesn’t respect women in the workplace. He believes that a woman’s rightful place is in the home, taking care of the house and children — and if she is a good wife, she will greet him with a glass of scotch poured into Trump’s very own collection of crystal glasses. In a 1994 interview, Trump said, “I think that putting a wife to work is a very dangerous thing. If you’re in business for yourself, I really think it’s a bad idea. I think that was the single greatest cause of what happened to my marriage with Ivana.” He says, “I have days where, if I come home — and I don’t want to sound too much like a chauvinist — but when I come home and dinner’s not ready, I go through the roof.”

Very recently, Trump was interviewed about the sexual harassment suit against former Fox CEO Roger Ailes, and was asked how he would feel if this happened to Ivanka, to which he replied, “I would like to think she would find another career or find another company if that was the case.”

In four years if Trump is president, the only women working at the White House will likely be models, former Miss America contestants, cooks, and maids. They will all need to pass an interview test proving that they would make a great wife.

Meanwhile, Trump will be in the Oval office busy at work “punishing” all the women who have had abortions. During his four years as president, Trump has committed to placing as many as four justices in the Supreme Court that would take America backward 50 years. Roe vs. Wade would be the first thing to go, along with the Affordable Care Act (ACA), same-sex marriage protection, and any chance of overturning Citizens United.

Trump told news anchor Chris Matthews in an interview that abortion is a crime and women who have abortions should be punished. He has also said that he will only appoint anti-abortion judges to the Supreme Court.

In four years, Trump will likely have installed his proposed “Donaldcare,” a system put in place to repeal the ACA and defund Planned Parenthood. In fact, Trump is so disgusted by Planned Parenthood — an organization that has been supporting women, men, and children’s reproductive needs for a hundred years — that he has said he will shut down the government to block patients who rely on Planned Parenthood for birth control and cancer screenings. If Planned Parenthood and the Affordable Care Act are shut down, 55 million people will lose access to birth control.

After four years of “Donaldcare,” women will be getting abortions in back alleys once again, birth control will no longer be free, and teen pregnancies will rise after hitting the lowest rate in 50 years.

By now we all get it: Trump views women as eye candy for men, at home fulfilling their duty as cook, maid, and mother. In 1991, Trump told Esquire magazine about the media, “You know, it doesn’t really matter what [they] write as long as you’ve got a young and beautiful piece of ass.”

When you go to the polls this November, please imagine a world where Donald Trump is our president, his entourage of “help” flying his private jets from mansions to high-rise penthouses adorned in gold and diamonds, and delusional ideas that all women are flirting with him. Imagine this same man who offers the world binders full of sexist statements now has power over every woman’s body, their choices, and their health care. Imagine a world without Planned Parenthood, an organization that helps five million people each year, primarily women and adolescents. Imagine a world where women are forced to wear a scarlet letter “A” as punishment for getting an abortion.

Are you scared yet?

The most powerful force that will prevent Trump from the oval office is the women’s vote. Let’s get out there, ladies, and make our voices heard.