Life

All (?) The Women Trump Has Groped

The “pussy” remark proved ominous. Image by Getty Images

By Phoebe Maltz Bovy October 13, 2016

So, uh, Trump. As should not come as any surprise, but somehow kind of does, Donald’s “locker room” talk about non-consensually grabbing women’s genitalia was not, as he’d claimed during the second presidential debate, merely “words.”

A candidate who had thus far come across as casually (if professionally) misogynistic (fat-shaming, ogling) has now crossed over into Cosby territory, with more and more disturbing information about Trump’s thing for the young and not as in 22. More and women (see Slate’s tally) coming forward to say that he’d groped them or otherwise physically crossed a line.

The “physically” bit here is key. That and the underage one. (What adult makes lewd remarks about 10-year-olds?) Until this latest round of revelations, Trump had seemed bad, of course, but plausibly like the American Everyman’s id. Sure, went the Trump-apologist narrative, lots of women find it gross that he worships beautiful young but of-age models (with electoral consequences!), but hey, he’s just a red-blooded dude, doing what any man would do if he were a billionaire. (Again, goes the narrative. I don’t personally share this view.) Now, though, that interpretation has become untenable.

“Now” also happens to be the month before the election, which has led some commentators (ahem, Joe Scarborough) to question whether these revelations were timed by the Hillary Clinton campaign. Which is both absurd and… even if true, unimportant. If Trump really did all this—and it’s looking like a yes—then by all means, let’s learn about it at exactly the moment when it stands to keep him out of power.

Phoebe Maltz Bovy edits the Sisterhood. Her book, The Perils of “Privilege”, will be published by St. Martin’s Press in March 2017.

Phoebe Maltz Bovy is a former editor of the Sisterhood blog at the Forward. Her writing has appeared in several publications, including The New Republic and The Atlantic. Her book, “The Perils of ‘Privilege,’” was published by St. Martin’s Press in March 2017. She has a PhD in French and French Studies from New York University, and has read a lot of 19th century French Jewish newspapers for a 21st century American.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO