The Anatomy of a Nasty Woman

“I’m a feminist, but not like that type of feminist.” What is that type of feminist? I asked my peers what they had associated with the word feminist and the majority of the responses regarded common feminist figures in pop culture and the vague image of a protest. President Donald Trump, who’s thoughts regarding feminism are constantly changing (as we are updated about on his infamous Twitter account) has given us a word to associate with that type of feminist: a Nasty Woman. That term was born during the final presidential debate of the 2016 election in which Donald Trump referred to Hillary Clinton as a ‘Nasty Woman.’ After that day that term was adopted by feminists all around the world and (as many insults are) was turned into something to be proud of. But Donald Trump's definition of Nasty Woman is one that most of society still associates with that term, or rather the idea of what a nasty woman is. That definition views a nasty woman as an undesirable, improper and wrong woman. A woman who isn't the type of woman society wants her to be. Society wants women to be quiet. That fact can be reflected in many historical feminist movements, one that comes to mind is the Me Too movement, and the backlash it faced. Donald Trump openly mocked this movement during many public statements. 

Whenever I talk about Trump's blatant sexism I often receive comments from people talking about how so many of Trump's companies are run by women, and for that reason, there is no way he could be sexist. The large issue with this statement is the idea that because of this sole reason Trump is not sexist. These women, the women that Trump supports are not nasty women. These women are the type of women that society (and Trump) wants women to be. They get to these places in society by being that type of woman. In no way am I attempting to invalidate their feminity or womanhood, this is just a fact. Women who could be classified as “Nasty Women” such as Nancy Pelosi and Alexandra Occsasio-Cortez (AOC) are strongly unliked and some may even go as far as to say despised by Trump and his supporters.

 So, Nasty Women still have a long way to go in society, because even as women in positions of power grow, that doesn't necessarily mean that these women will fight for equality. Women who are not the type of women whom society wants women to be, women who fuel misogyny in people like Donald Trump are the people we need in our government come November, so change can continue to be made at an even faster and more productive rate.