For over 100 years women in America were treated as second class human beings — not even allowed to vote. And now America has elected a President who says men can “grab women by their pussy“ and a Vice President who says that women must vote the same way as their husbands (you know, the 19th Amendment says you can vote, but only if you vote the same way as your husband). Despite Vice President Harris’s best efforts, it appears that we are “going back.”

What does all this mean for the self-esteem of young girls growing up in our country? The early signs are not good. The day after the election, boys in public schools in Colorado, inspired by the “grab them by the pussy“ President Elect, created semi circular gauntlets around the entrances of girls bathrooms and shouted misogynistic taunts at the girls just trying to get to the restroom. I know this because one of our wonderful granddaughters was forced to struggle through that gauntlet, and also from reports from dozens of parents in Colorado. Friends in other cities report similar behavior in their schools.

I don’t blame the boys, many of whom have inferiority complexes from being consistently outperformed by the girls in their classes. But our President and other political leaders are supposed to serve as role models for our youth. Instead, President Elect Trump has an undeniable track record of misogyny – his quote about grabbing women, his falsification of business records to cover up an affair with a porn star while his wife was at home nursing their newborn son, his conviction for sexual assault of E. Jean Carroll, and the unbelievably crude references that he sprinkles into his public speeches. And how do young boys learn this crude rhetoric? They hear it at home, consume it online, and then show up at school to parrot the misogyny. 

There are many decent individuals who are seeking positions in Trump’s administration. Most of them have daughters and granddaughters that they love. It is absolutely imperative that they speak out – now – against the misogyny that currently permeates the Trump world. Specifically, I implore FCC Commissioners Carr and Simington — both of whom aspire to positions in the Trump administration — to speak out against misogyny to confirm what I believe to be their character.