If women everywhere were shocked to see so many people vote for a sexual predator, the following may cause steam to shoot out of their eyes.
Misogynist In Chief
It was the virtual slap heard around the world. President-elect Donald Trump was caught on tape bragging about sexual assault just weeks before election day, saying:
“Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything.”
He was speaking to Billy Bush on Access Hollywood. Bush has since lost his job on the Today Show due to media backlash over the tape. While Trump, on the other hand, gets to run the country.
Now, Spencer’s Gifts, an adult novelty store known for their sex products, is selling a shirt that promotes an act of sexual violence.
In a picture uploaded by Mary Numair, a Spencer’s store in Portland, Oregon is selling a shirt that reads:
“Grab America By The Pussy”
A search on their site didn’t yield anything, so perhaps it’s only available in stores. You can view the t-shirt here.
People have taken to Twitter to voice their disgust.
Well, it looks like @Spencers will no longer receive my business. Shameful – Grab America by the Pussy. Normalizing sex abuse is never okay. https://t.co/Nh5nkt69aH
— Synth Magnetic (@synthomagnetic) January 15, 2017
According to this response from their official Twitter account, the Portland store views sexual assault as ‘adult in nature.’
so it's ok to normalize sexual assault by selling a "grab em by the pussy" tshirt?! What if it was your mom/sister/wife assaulted?
— Unapologetically Me ?☕️ (@p0ww0wm0m) January 15, 2017
Trumpers Have No Shame
While some Trump supporters claim they don’t support sexual assault, which really means they don’t care, others used those words to show they’d gladly vote him despite the genital grabbing. If anything, they encouraged it.
There have also been reports of men assaulting women and using that footage as a pass. A Republican politician from Connecticut was arrested after an incident with a woman. According to an article on the Cut, Christopher von Keyserling pinched a woman’s genitals and said:
“I love this new world, I no longer have to be politically correct.”
He was charged with fourth-degree sexual assault.
An even more disturbing incident involved young children. A teacher waived at a school bus and heard a group of young boys from inside of it yelling:
“Grab her by the pussy! Grab her by the pussy!”
Right after Trump won the election.
Fighting Back
It’s one thing to show your support of a candidate, say with a t-shirt or bumper sticker. It’s another to normalize sexual assault.
The movement #GrabYourWallet started as a way to boycott companies that supported Trump during the election. Thanks to this shirt, we can add Spencer’s Gifts to the list. They’re also selling a #NotMyPresident shirt, though. Which reflects the opinions of millions of Americans.
While us liberals appreciate the bipartisanship, sexual assault isn’t political. It’s illegal.
If you’ve never been sexually assaulted, then consider yourself lucky. You don’t have to relive the ordeal over and over in your head, remembering the overwhelming feeling of guilt as someone grabs you without your permission. You also don’t have to see someone similar to your assailant get elected to the highest office in the land.
The icing on the cake, however, was seeing his supporters threaten women who came forward with claims he sexually assaulted them. A dark reminder that had you reported your own experience with sexual assault, people would have probably called you a liar.
‘Grab America By The Pussy?’ More like #GrabYourWallet.
Watch this video of Trump supporters telling victims of sexual assault to ‘get over it.’
Feature Image: Screenshot Via Twitter.
