4600% Surge in a Day After Presidential Election
Widespread Misogyny Offline as Well
'Your Body Is My Choice'... Threats of Sexual Assault
"Male Communities Emboldened by Trump's Victory"
After former President Donald Trump was elected in the U.S. presidential election, misogynistic expressions surged online.
According to the U.S. think tank Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) on the 8th (local time), misogynistic expressions on online platforms such as X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok exploded within 24 hours immediately following the U.S. presidential election on the 5th.
On X, misogynistic expressions such as "your body, my choice" and "get back to the kitchen" increased by as much as 4600%. Derogatory insults targeting Vice President Kamala Harris were mentioned more than 64,000 times on election day alone. Even phrases calling for the repeal of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees women's suffrage, increased by 663% compared to the previous week.
"Your body, my choice" is a mocking reversal of the slogan ("my body, my choice") used by Vice President Harris during the election process to emphasize women's autonomy, implying even threats of sexual assault. "Get back to the kitchen" contains ridicule that enforces traditional gender roles and confines women's place to the home.
The media attributed the surge in misogynistic expressions to American far-right political commentator Nick Fuentes. His X post saying "Your body, my choice. Forever" was viewed more than 35 million times. On Facebook, the phrase "your body, my choice" appeared in the trending keywords, and on TikTok, there were numerous cases of comments containing this phrase posted on female users' accounts.
Harassment of women did not stop online but evolved into criminal threats against actual women. One parent lamented on Facebook that her daughter heard the phrase "your body, my choice" three times on a college campus. A Reddit user also wrote that he heard a group of men dressed in MAGA (Make America Great Again) attire say "go back to where you belong" on campus.
The media analyzed that this phenomenon was influenced by influencers mainly active in male-centered online communities or misogynistic online communities interpreting Donald Trump's victory as a win for reproductive rights or gender equality demands, becoming even bolder. The media stated, "(Male-centered communities) seem to be using the election results as a kind of license structure to more blatantly and aggressively assert narratives restricting women's rights."
Meanwhile, hate targeting not only women but also Black people is surging. According to foreign media such as CNN, starting from the day after the election on the 6th, in more than 20 states including New York, California, Virginia, North Carolina, and Wisconsin, text messages were sent to unspecified Black individuals saying, "You have been selected to pick cotton at a nearby plantation. Please gather your belongings and be ready by 8 a.m. sharp," prompting the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to launch an investigation. Plantations refer to large-scale farms where Black slaves traded in markets from the 17th to 19th centuries labored.
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