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Editor's Note: Jill Filipovic is a New York-based journalist and author of the upcoming book "OK Boomer, Let's Talk: How My Generation Got Left Behind" and "The H-Spot: The Feminist Pursuit of Happiness." Follow her on Twitter. The opinions expressed in this comment are exclusive to the author. See more opinion articles on CNNe.com/opinion
(CNN) - For President Donald Trump, women do one thing: serve. And men, even when they are supposed to be public servants, lead.
That was certainly the implication of Trump's comments about Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday. Pompeo had been investigated for circumventing Congress to push a weapons deal with the über-misogynist kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as well as for having employees carry out personal duties for him in violation of the rules governing personnel duties. CNN contacted the State Department for a statement but has not yet received a response.
In another blatant act of defiance of professional ethics, Trump fired the State Department inspector general who was investigating Pompeo's behavior. It is the kind of dictatorial behavior we expect from this President, but one that is nonetheless profoundly damaging to American democracy and transparent governance.
Beyond firing the watchdogs, Trump defended Pompeo's alleged misuse of labor. "I'm telling you about walking dogs, doing dishes, and, you know what, I'd rather be on the phone with some world leader than have to do it because maybe his wife or kids aren't there," Trump said. Trump's message and worldview was crystal clear. Wives and children in Trump's world belong to the same category: minors under control and caring for the most important man. A man washing his own dishes? That, Trump is sure, would be a waste of time, that is work for dependent women or children.
Strong men, and would-be strong men like Trump, put as much emphasis on the "man" as they do the "strong." The strong man is a caricature of masculinity, all bravado to cover a deep internal fragility, weakness and cowardice. And masculinity that is so superficial and cartoonish can only be shown in high contrast by dominating its opposite: the consensual feminine. This is the story of Trump's life: turning women into objects and accessories so he can feel more manly in comparison. If that is not possible, for example, if the woman in question is the former Democratic presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, or the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, or the Senator from Massachusetts, Elizabeth Warren, then consider that woman as rebellious, as a male, as a witch, as an emasculator, or as a corrupt liar.
Women who defy him (like White House reporters) or even defend themselves are not women, and they certainly cannot be trusted; Rejection of submission is treated as evidence of a female defect, a sign of deception. This gender abuse is targeting other men as well - Trump is insulting them as feminized to feel like John Wayne when he's more of a petty PT Barnum. It would be embarrassing if so many people didn't fall for it.
Trump has publicly said he refuses to do the necessary parenting work; instead of exerting his own weight, he places all the obligations on each of his successive wives. Trump told a radio announcer in 2005, a year before his son Barron was born, a diaper-changing man is acting "like the wife." Trump went further, saying that he is essentially completely useless when it comes to doing work at home. "I mean, I won't do anything to take care of them. I will provide funds and she will take care of the children. It's not like I'm going to walk with the kids through Central Park, ”he said on the Howard Stern show the same year. On the same show, two years later, when Barron was a young child, he said, “Melania is a wonderful mother. She takes care of the baby and I pay all the expenses ”. And then, of course, there is Trump's penchant for beauty pageants and his alleged harassment of young contestants. Women, in Trump's world, should be on stage for men's visual pleasure, or in the kitchen doing dishes. Cleaning up after yourself, or raising your own children, is apparently below real men like Trump and Pompeo.
This is all irritating to read, if you are a person who expects men to do the basics of caring for the children they help create (or a man who is already doing it), and if you think women are human beings that exist for their own purposes and not to be men's sex toys, baby machines and housewives. But it is far more troubling when it comes to the President of the United States who has turned this old-school misogyny into law and politics as the highest-ranking holder of the United States.
The Trump administration is forged in this image. The administration is overwhelmingly masculine and overwhelmingly white: Trump has appointed more than twice as many men as women. His judicial nominations follow the same path: 78% percent of the federal judges Trump has nominated are male, and 87% percent of them are white, according to NPR. These are lifetime appointments, which means that Americans have many, many more years ahead of conservative white men who shape the laws that govern us all, including constant setbacks of women's rights.
And the problem goes beyond who Trump names (although these quotes and nominations do count: the story they tell is that he believes men are more deserving and entitled to power than women). The Trump administration is one of the most open and unexcused misogynists in modern history. It's 2020, and the United States has yet to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, which simply gives women the same rights as men under the law. While the amendment has remained unacknowledged in multiple Republican and Democratic presidential offices, in January, the Trump Justice Department issued an opinion saying that the opportunity to ratify it had expired, only after a movement gained traction to try to push it forward. one more time.
Trump has slashed basic health care funds for women abroad and at home, putting women's lives at risk. It has allowed employers to openly discriminate against women in health care delivery and payment. It has even blocked the ability of public health experts to speak openly and accurately about women's health.
An assumption that men like Pompeo are too important to do the dishes, then, is not just a comment on the dishes. It is a reflection of a whole ideology that Trump has carried out, from who he places in positions of power to how he exercises his. The men are upstairs. Women are cleaning up the mess.
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