ABSTRACT
Evidence of misogyny – a hatred or contempt for women – crept into public discourse throughout the presidential campaign, reaching a crescendo on October 7, 2016, just weeks before the election ended. On that day, The Washington Post released an audiotape and video of Donald Trump talking about grabbing women by the “pussy.” This incident, when the vulgar recorded comments spoken by then presidential candidate Trump made their way into the mediated sphere, grounds this chapter and, arguably, marks one of the most astounding gender moments during the election. Trump’s misogyny, however, was not the only such incident that appeared in our mediated political discourses during the campaign. This chapter investigates several other occasions throughout the campaign to illustrate the ways in which misogyny is both still allowed and excused in American culture. It also explores how feminism counters and critiques this misogyny and opens a space for competing gender ideologies.
