6 Trump Shenanigans that Prove Adrienne Rich Absolutely Right

            As much as we as a society would like to think that we’ve taken one giant leap for womankind, we haven’t. Even today, women are still largely confined to a catch-22 in which anything they do is somehow influenced by, and in service to, the employed powers of men. Because of the narrow margins of what defines a woman, many females, as Witting has shown, are pushed into nonexistence in terms of their identities. 

            This lack of validation for women ironically perpetuates the great lengths that females will go to in order to make their existences significant. But alas, their actions are still in service of men, whose power is used to diminish that of the woman. Trump is a perfect example of this. Say what you will, but there is no denying that Trump has power, and he holds no reservations when using it to police women. These six quotes are sad but true testaments to the characteristics of the power of men that Adrienne Rich listed in Compulsory Heterosexuality:

Trump, Donald. (realDonaldTrump).7 May 2013. 6:04. Tweet.

1.   In response to a question on gay marriage and LGBTQ rights, trump responded with “I just don’t feel good about it. I don’t feel right about it.[i]” In addition to this, on multiple accounts he has expressed his views as anti-lgbtq, which perfectly characterizes how male power is used to deny women their own sexuality.
2.     As seen in the photo above, Trump released a tweet implying that the addition of women to the military justified the increasingly high number of sexual assault cases. Here, women strive to serve their country but ultimately only serve male power.
3.  “I was the one that really broke the glass ceiling on behalf of women,[ii]” Trump says. While this self serving bias may satisfy Trump’s own ego, it demonstrates Rich’s idea that one characteristic of male power is the power to exploit female work for their own gains.
4. Trump declared that there should be “some sort of punishment[iii]” for women if abortion is illegal. This seems like no problem, but it is because he would like to make abortion illegal. Clearly, as Rich would conclude, he uses power to control children.
5. In another tweet, Trump stated, “Lyin’ Ted Cruz just used a picture of Melania for a shoot in his ad. Be careful, Lyin’ Ted, or I will spill the beans on your wife[iv].” In this case, Trump has exemplified how male power can be used to use women as objects in transactions. Granted, the ‘transaction’ is one of competitive slandering, but still, women are used as ammunition for a Twitter war.
6. In yet another Twitter disagreement, Trump commented on the singer Cher saying that she “should spend more time focusing on her family and dying career.[v]” This is exactly what Rich described when explaining how male power can cramp women’s creativity. By drawing away from her creative work, he is reducing her to far less than her potential.

Trump serves as an astounding reminder that the reality of the situation is that men’s power is enforced to keep women out of a large portion of the world. Whether or not women are always constantly limited by male power is certainly debatable. There is definitely an extent to which Adrienne Rich’s theory holds true. But this historical figure absolutely shows how compulsive heterosexuality and male powers are used to govern women in this day and age.

---

[i]Baume, Matt. "The Top Ten Worst Comments Donald Trump Has Made about LGBTQ People." LGBTQ Nation. LGBTQ Nation, 4 Feb. 2016. Web. 23 Nov. 2016.

[ii] "16 Things Donal Trump Has Said About Women, Round 2." Huffington Post. Huffington Post, n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2016.

[iii]@marieclaireuk. "30 Of The Most Outrageous Donald Trump Quotes." Marie Claire. Marie Claire, 09 Nov. 2016. Web. 23 Nov. 2016.

[iv]Trump, Donald J. "Lyin' Ted Cruz Just Used a Picture of Melania from a G.Q. Shoot in His Ad. Be Careful, Lyin' Ted, or I Will Spill the Beans on Your Wife!" Twitter. Twitter, 23 Mar. 2016. Web. 23 Nov. 2016.

[v] Bahadur, Nina. "18 Real Things Donald Trump Has Actually Said About Women." Huffington Post. Huffington Post, 19 Aug. 2015. Web. 23 Nov. 2016.