“The shameful comments about our bodies, the disrespect of our ambitions and intellect, the belief that you can do anything you want to a woman, it is cruel,” Obama said at the New Hampshire rally for Clinton.
“The men in my life do not talk about women like this and I know that my family is not unusual,” Obama continued. “And to dismiss this as everyday locker room talk is an insult to decent men everywhere.”
Obama’s words come at a time when more and more conversations are being had about rape culture, women’s bodies and consent. The discussion hit a plateau with the promotion of actor/director Nate Parker’s film, Birth of A Nation, a few months ago.
Parker was accused of raping a young woman as a college athlete at the Penn State in the 1990s. His seemingly arrogant, “male privilege,” way of talking about the rape charge, of which he was cleared, rubbed people the wrong way. In protest of Parker, many pledged not to support his film, which tells the story of a slave revolt led by Nat Turner in Virginia.
Though the allegations against Trump haven’t led to any criminal charges, it’s interesting to see many Republicans chose not to withdraw their support.