On Nov 6th, 2024, it was announced that Republican candidate and former president Donald Trump had won the presidential election. There was a range of reactions from Americans nationwide, from relief and excitement to anger and grief. No matter what side of the moral spectrum you might be on, one thing is certain; the rights and safety of women were completely disregarded in this election.

Americans who voted for Trump, say that women are ‘overreacting’ to the election results. These people believe it’s irrational to think that since our government is now predominantly in Republican control, women will suffer major consequences in terms of rights and security. However, the point women have is unfortunately being proven.

Nick Fuentes, a political influencer who is extremely popular in the online conservative echo chamber who has been seen praising Hitler posted a disturbing comment on the social media app X, “Your body, my choice.” Women across the country were outraged by this comment, and rightly so.

With Trump now set to be in office, a lot of fear surrounds reproductive rights, and whether the country faces a nationwide abortion ban. And to not have the support of men, a lot of which have wives, daughters, and mothers, is terrifying.

This kind of sentiment hasn’t only been pushed by Fuentes. After he made his chilling statement, young men across the country have taken it upon themselves to spread this message through social media and even protests. The Institute for Strategic Dialogue reports that internet usage of misogynistic comments such as “Repeal the 19th” and “Get back to the kitchen” peaked shortly after the election, but then dropped off. And their usage dropped off because “Your body, my choice” replaced them.

Paula Auble, an AP U.S. History teacher at Verrado, believes that saying such a thing isn’t just immoral, but also threatening.

“I think that for a young man to say something like that – they either truly don’t understand how demeaning and threatening it is meant to be – OR they do know and feeling powerful enough to instill discomfort or fear in a young lady is their goal. We can’t force people to be nice to others, but I think schools could treat it as we would any other threat of bodily harm.”

When you look at protests, at Texas State University, two men aligned with the organization Official Street Preachers held up signs that claimed women as property. Luckily, many students stood in front of them in refutation with empowering signs. But to see these men, who are members of a younger generation, spew this kind of hatred and disregard for women is awful, and it rightfully makes one question the future of female safety in the U.S. If half of the future population of our society advocates claiming women as ‘property’, then that spells danger and dark times for American women.

When asked if she’s seen a difference in her students’ attitudes toward women, Chelsea Reyna, an AP Language and Composition teacher also at Verrado, stated:

“I have seen a shift in students expressing their beliefs more loudly and more boldly when they feel they have the dominant opinion. But what I fear I have seen is a shift in the way that people interact with one another. This is a disservice to students and their attitudes regarding women’s rights because opportunities for information to formulate their own opinions outside of the soundbites “abortion is a sin” and “my body, my choice” have not been sought out or provided.”

For many women, it feels like the country is regressing, and that’s valid because women today now have fewer rights than their mothers and grandmothers. Due to this, it’s right to fear that we might go back to an oppressive society that discourages women from being anything more than housewives. All of those protests for equality, all of those marches for reproductive rights, it’s all just being erased little by little until eventually there will be nothing left.

Reyna explained the way this impacts American women and society as a whole:

“The divisive political climate reduces women’s reproductive rights to an oversimplified black-and-white argument of morality and choice where righteousness is met with anger, and fear and logic are lost. I have seen a shift in students, and people, instead of seeking perspectives that disagree with their own, only engage with information that reinforces their beliefs. I have seen a shift in the willingness of adults to engage in difficult conversations with students either because they have been instructed not to or fear of pushback and the possibility of losing their livelihood. Fear of being accused of pushing an agenda on either side of the ever-growing divide.”

However, women are more than willing to rebuild a broken society and continue the fight for our rights. Just like their foremothers, women across the country have participated in protests and rallies in support of reproductive rights. Trump’s presidency may be the match that ignites the fire and inspires more women across the country to stand against the pain and suffering that our future government and its supporters seem so intent on inflicting.

On Nov 7th at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), female students gathered and protested abortion bans, during pro-life supporter Lydia Taylor Davis’s visit to the campus. They chanted, sang, and engaged in debates with Davis at her table.

While it seems the future for women is bleak under Trump’s administration, we must have hope, and continue to fight for our rights. Trump’s presidency hasn’t even begun, and as shown by the VCU protest combined with many more across the country, women have already started the battle for their future. America has failed women, but women will not fail America.