by Kitty Testa
While many of us would prefer to discuss Donald Trump’s police-state leanings and the folly of his economic ideas, most of the country would rather talk about his bragging about kissing and grabbing women. While this could open a serious discussion about why rich and powerful men feel an entitlement to treat women as sexual objects, and to examine why this is a feature of nearly every human civilization, such an exercise would undermine the point of their manufactured outrage entirely: Trump is bad because he abuses women.
And yet our popular culture unapologetically glorifies other misogynists and sexual abusers. Here are five examples that should give you pause before you blush like a Victorian grandmother over Trump’s shocking boasts.
1. Led Zeppelin and almost every other classic rock star you’ve ever heard of
Trump doesn’t hold a candle to the boys who brought us “I wanna be your back door man.” In fact, the heroes of 1960s and 1970s rock and roll were abusive to women and underage girls in song and in deed. In the movie Sunset Strip, Sharon Osbourne described the horrendous treatment of female groupies by the male rock stars (especially members of Led Zeppelin), including putting cigarettes out on them.
An entire groupie culture of sexually available women developed around the rich and famous rock stars. They became the subject of songs and were even featured in Rolling Stone. Dire Straights wasn’t kidding when they sang, “I get money for nothing and my chicks for free.”
I recall reading an interview with Jackson Browne back in the 1970s where he complained about groupies screwing the band in the pool and not “douching” often enough. Browne also went on to be abusive in his relationship with actress Daryle Hannah.
If Trump’s remarks offend you so deeply, you might want to stop listening to classic rock.
2. Occupy Wall St.
During the Occupy Wall St. movement, the 99% proved that you don’t have to be rich and powerful to be a pig. There were so many sexual assaults in Zuccotti Park that the organizers had to arrange female-only sleeping tents to keep the women safe (this was five years ago, before it was uncouth to assume a person’s gender).
The Feminist Wire responded that the safe spaces for women were a start, but maybe they “ought to place the onus on men to stop sexual violence.” Occupy Wall St. was a mass demonstration of populist power. If you’re starting to see the connection between power and sexual abuse, you’re paying attention.
3. Game of Thrones
If you’ve watched this riveting series like millions of people around the world, at one point or another you’ve said, “That George R.R. Martin is one sick and twisted puppy.”
The women in this epic tale are treated so badly so often that it has gotten to the point of losing its shock value. Naked women are strewn around the sets as props in this soft porn saga, and the only character to treat a whore with dignity, Tyrion Lannister, was betrayed by her and sentenced to death.
In fairness, victimhood abounds in Game of Thrones, and the protagonists occasionally avenge the injured. The producers have tried to provide some balance by showing women as sexual predators as well. But does the show not desensitize us to sexual assault?
Game of Thrones is a power struggle by definition, and sexual abuse is almost always perpetrated by those with power.
4. Snoop Dogg and almost every other rap star you’ve ever heard of
“Bitches ain’t sh*t but hoes and tricks / Lick on these nuts and suck the d*ck.” – Snoop Dogg
The Dogg sees himself as a reformed misogynist, but the entire genre of rap is rife with lyrics which degrade women.
How many times have you been at a wedding when some clearly degrading rap song comes on and all the young women howl and go running onto the dance floor to twerk to the beat?
Michelle Obama declared her own indignation at Trump, saying, “I can’t stop thinking about this. It has shaken me to my core in a way I could not have predicted,” and yet she has repeatedly entertained misogynistic rappers at the White House. If you truly decry sexual abuse and misogyny, may I suggest you start listening to classical music?
5. Hollywood
It’s well known that female lead actors are paid less than male leads, which prompted both Jennifer Lawrence and Patricia Arquette to raise awareness in their Oscar speeches last February.
But there are worse things in Hollywood than the pay gap. The predatory off-screen sexual abuse in Hollywood is legendary. These aren’t just run of the mill misogynists, but child abusers. Recently, Corey Feldman alluded to a powerful Hollywood actor, an unnamed household name, as the leader of a child sex ring. Elijah Wood referred the to “darkness in the underbelly” of the entertainment industry’s capital, although he states that he had not been abused himself.
Think about that next time you go to the movies.
Perhaps it is in humanity’s DNA that powerful men are given a smorgasbord of potential sexual conquests, often willingly. If it weren’t the case, we wouldn’t call beautiful women married to rich men “trophy wives.” Perhaps it is also true that men who feel they have been denied social power are misogynists to elevate themselves and feel powerful.
But the problem isn’t just a male problem. Women, too, advance their objectification by competing for the attention of rich and powerful men. We wouldn’t have groupies or centerfolds if this weren’t the case.
It’s a good thing that sexual objectification is on everybody’s radar, but I suspect that the outrage against Donald Trump’s locker room talk is fodder only to vilify the candidate. The election will soon be over, and we will have missed an opportunity to explore the cultural attitudes that contribute to the kind of abuse and objectification expressed in Trump’s remarks.