Down the drain

The man who has called women pigs, slobs and dogs — and dismissed his opponent as a “nasty woman” — is now presidentelect of the U.S.

The man who bragged about grabbing women by their genitals and boasted about his penis size is set to hold the highest office in the world.

The man who has been accused of assault by more than a dozen women will hold power over the lives of the more than 50 per cent of the U.S. population who are female.

Yes, Donald Trump, the man who declared that “nobody has more respect for women than I do,” is in.

So how is it that an unapologetic misogynist, whose discourse incites other men to hate women, was elected to such a powerful office? American women did not stop him. Hillary Clinton won among all female voters by 54 to 42 per cent, but Trump actually beat Clinton among white women by 53 to 43 per cent.

No wonder, then, that New York writer Arwa Mahdawi wrote in the Guardian after the vote: “It’s women of colour who should feel the angriest today.”

She’s right. But it is women of all colours who will pay the price. Here’s why:

Trump has pledged to defund Planned Parenthood, despite acknowledging the good work it does screening millions of women for breast and cervical cancer, because it also provides abortions.

He is against abortion, with narrow exceptions such as rape, incest or when a women’s life is in danger. He even argued at one point that women who have abortions should be legally punished.

He will name a new Supreme Court justice, causing many to fear he will appoint someone who could overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that established the right to abortions in the U.S.

This future commander-in-chief of the U.S. armed forces once tweeted: “26,000 unreported sexual assaults in the military — only 238 convictions. What did these geniuses expect when they put men & women together.”

He ramped up the misogyny meter, calling Clinton “crooked,” saying he would jail her and joking that only “Second Amendment (gun rights) people” could stop Clinton’s agenda.

Election day was supposed to be about boosting women’s rights by electing the first female president. Sadly, it’s turned out to be about endangering them.

Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton among white women by 53 to 43 per cent in the election