ColumnPerhaps you’ve heard about a little story that recently ran in the New York Times about how Donald Trump has (mis)treated women over the years. While that isn’t surprising, it sure is disturbing that this man is now the presumptive Republican nominee for president.

So, just how bad are some of the accusations against Trump? Well, they are at least just as bad as everything else he has said to the press and his supporters this year.

To get a good look at how Trump has treated women in private, the Times interviewed dozens of women who worked with, or for, Trump, women who dated him or knew him socially, and women and men who knew him since he was a teen. “In all, more than 50 interviews were conducted over the course of six weeks,” the Times reports.

Yeah, they went deep.

The dirt on Trump

Through its extensive research, the Times discovered that Trump has cultivated his “ladies’ man” status since military school. Through the years, his desire to be surrounded by women morphed into a desire to control women— a trait Trump most likely learned from his father, Fred Trump, who was, apparently, quite vocal about his traditional views on gender. And it’s that thought process that has probably caused Trump to do a lot of inappropriate things in many professional settings. Here’s just one example from the Times piece:

“He kissed me directly on the lips,” Temple Taggart, 1997 Miss Utah USA, says. “I thought, ‘Oh my God, gross.’ He was married to Marla Maples at the time. I think there were a few other girls that he kissed on the mouth. I was like ‘Wow, that’s inappropriate.’”

No shit.

Now, when the Times article broke, Trump swore he would sue the paper because of the piece, saying it was full of lies. But just like everything Trump says, he took it back and decided that all he really needs is an apology, which he most likely will never get because the Times didn’t do anything wrong. Trump has helped some women in their careers while also commenting on their physical appearance. A gross, familiar cocktail of sexism that many women are used to choking down. But just because we’re used to it doesn’t mean it’s right.

What’s up with his supporters?

So, why don’t these stories change Trump’s supporters’ opinions? Sure, Trump is quite popular with racists and white males who feel cozy thinking that they are superior to women and all minorities who reside in America. But Trump also has a lot of female supporters. I truly can not wrap my mind around how women can approve of a candidate who mocks women for menstruating, refers to his daughter as “sexy,” and who has been accused of rape.

Trump is not good for America and he definitely isn’t good for women. Hell, just look at the track record of a few of the judges—Pryor and Sykes—Trump said he would potentially nominate to the Supreme Court.

So, no matter what he says or how much he tries to walk back his sexist comments, he will always and forever be a misogynist.

Related on EcoSalon

Behold: Donald Trump Supporters in all Their Glory [Video]

Donald Trump’s Speech to Coal Miners is His Weirdest Yet [Video]

Donald Trump is Confused Video

Image of Donald Trump via Shutterstock, Steve Lagreca

The post Donald Trump Swears He Doesn’t Hate Women (He Kind of Does, Though): #NowWhat appeared first on EcoSalon.

ColumnJill Abramson, The New York Times’ top dog, and first female executive editor, was fired.

We should have seen this coming. Jill ABRAmson. Bra is right there in her name!

As the scandal started to unfold, it seemed like a clear case of sexism at work. The New Yorker reported that the trouble for Abramson may have escalated when she found out that her pay and her pension benefits as both executive editor and, before that, as managing editor, were less what her male predecessor received.

An associate told the magazine that when she spoke up, it reinforced her reputation as “pushy,” a term used almost exclusively to talk about women.

Issues surrounding “significant” pay discrepancy have been widely disputed by the Times, and the New Yorker has since updated its report. But, what we’re left with is another “pushy” broad pushed out of the C-suite. And, so far, that seems to be a story that’s sticking.

The Times reportedly wanted her departure to be less dramatic than it has been, but Abramson insisted they fire her — because that’s what was happening. It was the truth and she wanted the truth to be out there. Pushy indeed! Now, because of social media and Abramson’s daughter, #pushy is now a hashtag, joining the ranks of #BanBossy.

As the scheduled keynote speaker at Wake Forest University’s graduation this week, Abramson had to do something all editors are familiar with: a rewrite. According to the Washington Post, a Wake Forest official said the original draft of her speech focused on the importance of media freedom.

While I imagine she wasn’t conceptualizing her topic in this way, it’s interesting to think about media freedom in terms of her right as a woman leading her field to run her newsroom — hard-assed news guys are legendary — as she saw fit.

All of this has gotten me thinking about my own experience in various editorial settings. So, in solidarity with Jill Abramson and women everywhere, I offer you this list of four anecdotes from my professional life between 2000 and today to illustrate that shit like this happens to the Jills of the world, and also to the Libbys.

1. As the Editor-In-Chief of a magazine, I worked directly for the publisher. He referred to me exclusively as “Girl.” When we disagreed about something, he would say, “Girl, you’re a cunt.” Sweet, right?

2. I once received this unsolicited performance review from a superior at an office party: “It’s not you I don’t like, it’s your face.” My read on this was that it was a version of, “Why don’t you smile?” which is something I hate. I was part of an opinionated, smart leadership team — consisting mainly of men — and many of us were quick with an eyeroll. As far as I know, I was the only one made to justify my physical reactions to conflict.

3. A publisher I worked for owed me three months’ pay. When I finally refused to stop working until I received said payment, he pointed out that the company wasn’t doing well and he had a wife and family to support. He kind of trailed off waiting for me, I think, to put my right to get paid to the side to support him in his plight as a big manly provider. This illustrates one of my favorite recurring sexism at work themes: the idea that women work for fun, not for money.

4. I worked for one media company where drinking heavily was just kind of what we all did on group outings. One night, I overheard a middle-aged male VP say this to a group of 20-something female employees: “I’m feeling kind of hand-jobby.”

What I learned from all of these experiences is that even when you’re working with primarily good people — which most of these guys actually were — gender bias sneaks in. In some cases, it punches you in the gut.

As leaders, we can’t laugh it off when we’re called a bitch for disagreeing with something, when we’re labeled as pushy or reprimanded for being too difficult.

When we are hired to lead, we must be allowed to be leaders.

I’m not an insider in the Jill Abramson scandal, and I am not saying that she was fired because she is a woman. I don’t know. But I do know that in her speech to the new graduates, her first public comment on her departure from the Times, she said to, “Show what you’re made of.”

Maybe her speech was actually about media freedom after all.

That Happened is Libby Lowe’s weekly column for EcoSalon analyzing media, news and pop culture through a feminist lens. Keep in touch with Libby @LibbyLowe.

Related on EcoSalon

Feminism According to Sheryl Sandberg

Working Girl to Work-Wife: Sexism at Work

Equality and Your Paycheck: That Hasn’t Happened

Image: Alexander Torrenegra Creative Commons 

The post The NYT Fired Jill Abramson: That Happened appeared first on EcoSalon.