In the wake of the reelection of Donald Trump for president of the United States, many women have found themselves exposed to the hate speech of far-right male figures. Most notably, online figure Nick J Fuentes released a video slandering and trolling the female audience after Trump’s announced win.
The extremist posted on X “Your body, my choice. Forever,” last Tuesday during election coverage. The post was viewed more than 90 million times and has garnered infinite attention by supporters of the claim and outraged women.
Fuentes also released a video where he repeatedly states the phrase and asks women how they feel about him “controlling their bodies.” He also shares ideas that women will be kept down by “hitting your stupid face into the brick ceiling,” in reference to the “glass ceiling” metaphor about barriers to advancing in a hierarchy. This is also supported by his claim that a woman would “never be the president of the global empire.”
The tag “your body, my choice” has been circulated tens of millions of times across social media platforms throughout the last week.
This is not the only instance of the flood gates of hate speech that have been publicized. At Texas State University, two non-students held a religious protest. They displayed signs with homophobic, racist, misogynistic sayings to support their beliefs. Ideas such as “Women are Property” and “Homo Sex is a Sin” were displayed on the signs. They also referenced the owning of slaves as property.
An outraged student body combatted the protest and displayed signs that stated, “There is still love in the world.” Additionally, the president of Texas State released a statement condemning the actions of the protestors and confirming that they were not students at the institution.
With traction and attention gaining online in support of this defamation against women, many are afraid for what lies ahead. Is this the First Amendment protection that Donald Trump has in mind for the future of America?