Stepping out of my dorm on Wednesday, the air was heavier. As I looked around at the other women around me, I could see the pain in their faces. No words had to be spoken.
Over the last week, I have often heard the phrases, “Thank God that’s over with!” and “It’s just politics, it’s not that serious.” For some people, these things may feel true, but for many women in this country this is incredibly serious, and it has only just begun.
We are already starting to see how these results are enabling men through horrifying, violent and disgusting comments on social media. A video posted by far-right misogynistic creator Nick Fuentes has been circulating on TikTok over the last week where he says, “Men win again and yes, we control your bodies,” and shouts, “There will never, never be a female president,” amongst other aggressive misogynistic comments celebrating the election results.
This video has helped empower men all over social media to comment vulgar misogynistic comments on posts of women grieving over the election results. Popular comments coming from incel men include variations of “your body, my choice,” “shut up and go make me a sandwich” and “men won.”
You cannot convince most women that this campaign was not a direct attack on their rights, especially the right to bodily autonomy, when the response to victory is to immediately claim ownership of women’s bodies.
One of the central issues for many women in this country is accessibility to reproductive care and the right to bodily autonomy. Through Project 2025 and both President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance’s comments throughout their campaign, it has been heavily alluded to and sometimes outright stated that conservatives will try to enact a federal abortion ban.
With a federal abortion ban, anyone that may need an abortion for medical reasons will be at risk. Though there might be some sort of exception in cases that threaten the mother’s life, those exceptions are often ineffective, as we’ve seen in states that have already created these bans. When doctors are worried about whether or not they will be imprisoned instead of immediately helping the patient, far more complications occur.
Additionally, those who become pregnant as result of being raped will not have the access they need to terminate their pregnancy and recover from the trauma, both physically and psychologically. Even if there is an exception for rape, it is incredibly difficult to prove that legally and the process is long and traumatic.
Finally, any woman should be able to get an abortion for any reason. It is both unfair to her and to the unwanted child to force her to give birth. Pregnancy and giving birth are very physically demanding and often traumatic processes that nobody should be forced into. A ban like this would open doors to bans on birth control and other forms of contraception, which could lead to more dangerous results.
Regardless, women deserve the right to have control over their own bodies, and under a second Trump administration, that right is in grave danger. With that comes many more questions for different women about what will happen to them without the security of the rights they once knew.
How is the Black woman feeling knowing that once again, she has been passed over for a position she was absolutely more qualified for? How does she feel knowing that with all of the progress we’ve made in this country, she still is not taken seriously?
How is the queer woman feeling knowing she may lose her right to marry who she loves, a right that she only gained less than a decade ago? How does she feel knowing that the man elected will enable society to treat her without respect with no repercussions?
Trump is widely known to have sexually assaulted many women, and even if some of his voters say they do not agree with those actions, seeing that it was not a deal breaker is heartbreaking and scary for the millions of women who are survivors and all those who fear for what could happen to them during his second term. Protecting women is clearly not on America’s priority list, and won’t be as long as this man is in office.
I have heard so many women say “I hope this isn’t the last election I vote in,” and, while many call them dramatic, it’s a reality we unfortunately have to consider. If these politicians are promising to take away all of these rights that we thought were fundamental, who’s to say that the 19th Amendment isn’t going soon, too?
We can debate about why Vice President Kamala Harris lost until the end of time, but one thing rings true in each theory: Americans still cannot handle the idea of a woman being president. No matter the progress we have made in this country, the sexism and racism deeply embedded in our society has prevented us from taking this leap. Although it is not the only reason for this loss, the fact that Harris is a Black woman was a central reason for many who voted against her, regardless of her qualifications or policies.
While it’s easy to hear all of this and think we are at a loss, we cannot give up. It is imperative that we show them that we are not standing down. Let your anger and sadness fuel you. Women will always continue to fight for their right to exist in this country, and one day we will finally win.
Molly O’Connor, FCRH ’28, is a journalism major from Weymouth, Mass.
