As we are now in the thick of the age of Trump, Part 2, the importance of women supporting women has never been greater. Many of us may believe that, here in Northampton, we are immune from the effects of the creeping misogyny that is all around us. This is a foolhardy assumption.
Women of all political persuasions are affected by misogyny on the daily — any time, any place. Women who work in primarily female professions constantly have their work devalued and make less money than men. Limited child care options affect women disproportionately. And women are routinely scrutinized and held to a standard that men just are not. This happens at work. This happens at home. This certainly happens in politics.
How did we get Trump? A bombastic, bored, rich white man who appealed to the basest of social and political instincts — knowing how to get angry people riled up. A loud, overconfident, underqualified man vs. a quietly competent, deliberate, and collaborative woman, and the dude wins every time. And it was not just men who voted for him.
Women are not exempt from internalizing misogyny and perpetuating their own subjugation. In the age of Trump, it is now more important than ever to examine our own often-hidden biases and make supporting women, every kind of woman, a priority. Especially here in Northampton.
Julie Brand Asbornsen
Florence