Trigger Warning: Sexual Assault, Harassment
I want to preface this piece by stating that I hope the American people (or rather, the electoral college) will elect Joe Biden to be their next President. The US and the World will be a safer place for women if the Democrats have control of the White House.
However, while I sit comfortably North of the border wasting way too much time listening to podcasts or reading about the chaos that is American politics, I have become extremely disheartened by the current election cycle. The choice is between two old, rich, white men who have troubling histories of women and have both been accused of sexual assault. Let me be very clear in saying that I know who the lesser of two evils is, but that doesn’t negate the fact that these two options represent the ferocity of rape culture so ingrained in our society.
In terms of the current President, the news cycle details his many offenses enough, and I get tired of talking about him. As if the video of him remarking “I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it, you can do anything… grab them by the pussy” that surfaced shortly before the 2016 election wasn’t enough, we have watched him continuously degrade women and sexualize his own daughter for the past four years. As Time Magazine discusses, what’s worse than his behaviour itself is the fact that the world we created helped him to succeed, allowing him to act as a mirror, “reflecting back at us an engorged, amplified vision of the misogynist norms we have all enabled and perpetuated”. Trump’s manifestations of rape culture don’t end at degradation and removal of autonomy; he has also participated in explicit violence. Business Insider reports that 25 women have made sexual assault allegations against Donald Trump since the 1970s. Keep in mind that we also know the majority of women who have been sexually abused don’t come forward. The fact that this kind of behaviour doesn’t disqualify a person from one of the highest positions in the world has troubled me since the day he was elected, but it appears that we’re in for another four years of this confusion.
Aside from the fact that Joe Biden’s only platform is that he’s a) not Trump, and b) buddies with Obama, there are some serious issues with his history, especially with regard to the treatment of women. Most of the background in the next few paragraphs come from the podcast Call Your Girlfriend, listen to their episodes from May 15th and May 22nd of this year if you want more information and commentary: https://www.callyourgirlfriend.com/episodes
In 1991, Biden chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee for the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas. During the hearings, respected law professor Anita Hill testified under oath about the alleged sexually inappropriate behaviour she had witnessed from Thomas, her former boss. Her testimony ultimately became a memorable moment in history where an all-male panel aggressively grilled a black woman, questioning her character, motives, and sanity. Not only did Biden do little to stop these attacks on Hill in his role as the chairman, but he also opted not to call on three additional witnesses who were poised to echo Hill’s alleges of sexual harassment. Thomas has now been serving on the Supreme Court for 25 years and remains one of the most rigidly conservative members, often opposing affirmative action and voting along with other conservative justices. Years later in 2019, Biden recognized the impact that his treatment of Anita Hill could have on his campaign and reached out to her over the phone. However, Dr. Hill, now a professor of social policy, law, and women’s studies at Brandeis University, was not pleased with the apology. She told the New York Times that she doesn’t think Biden has taken full responsibility for his role in the hearings, or for the harm he caused other victims of sexual harassment. Moreover, Dr. Hill stated that she believes Biden set the stage for Justice Kavanaugh to be elevated to the Supreme Court despite abuse allegations by Dr. Christine Ford (an eerily similar situation wherein the Senate Judiciary Committee was again all-male).
When Biden is asked about his policies targeting gender violence, he loves to talk about his work on the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) which was nested in the Crime Bill of 1994. This legislation, designed to protect women and girls, is in fact a large part of Biden’s legacy. Although it had some positive impacts and was definitely well-intentioned, a big contention of the policy was that it focused mainly on law enforcement and the judicial system, rather than targeting the larger systemic patterns at play that leave women vulnerable to violence. More than ever, we are learning about the issues that arise with giving more and more funding and responsibility to law enforcement, rather than community prevention efforts. Moreover, the 1994 version of the legislation was authored by a Senate that included only two women at the time, few consultations with women’s advocacy group, and was centered around the antiquated notion that women need to be “protected." All that being said, the Act needs to be re-authorized every 5 years by the Senate, giving policymakers, special interest groups, and the public time to reflect on current needs. If Biden is going to use this part of his legacy to garner the appreciation of women voters, he should at least be able to speak to some of the VAWA’s downfalls.
The most common criticism that Biden receives in terms of his treatment of women is in reference to his unwarranted holding from behind, kissing, and hugging. This man has a well-documented problem with respecting personal space. He recently apologized for his inappropriate behaviour, saying that while that kind of touching is simply how he connects with people, he recognizes that he needs to be more mindful as cultural norms shift. But once again we’re seeing how Biden embraces the hegemonic ideals of masculinity that positions men as dominant over women in society. Clearly, he thinks that while women need to be protected, he has the right to touch and kiss them whenever he sees fit. Unsurprisingly, women have spoken out about how uncomfortable Biden has made them feel in these instances. Lucy Flores wrote a great piece discussing how mortified she felt when Biden smelled her hair and kissed her head at a campaign event back in 2014, she concluded: “that imbalance of power and attention is the whole point – and the whole problem.”
Most recent are the sexual assault accusations made by former staffer Tara Reade. Rarely am I surprised by powerful men being called out for their behaviour since the beginning of the #MeToo era, but this one sent a shockwave through myself and other Democratic supporters. In April 2019, The Union published Reade’s account of then-Senator Biden’s misconduct back in 1993 when she was working as his employee in her mid-20s. She claimed that he made comments about liking her legs, asked her to serve cocktails at an event (not an appropriate responsibility for a Senate staffer), and made her uncomfortable by touching her thigh, shoulders, and hair. When she complained, she was told to dress more conservatively, and eventually ended up being pushed out of her job. All of these accusations were consistently corroborated by friends and witnesses and align with employment documents. However, her story changed in March 2020 when she shared additional information about her experience of Biden pushing her into a wall, kissing, and digitally penetrating her. For a full recollection of her accusations, please watch Megyn Kelly’s YouTube video where Reade is given the chance to tell her story. This made the public weary; why hadn’t she shared this information earlier? Why was she sharing to choose this information while the Democratic primaries were being held?
It’s not unreasonable to think that a survivor may come forward initially with a “safer” story, then eventually work up the courage to reveal the full truth. The way that the brain processes traumatic experiences can make it difficult for survivors to present a linear narrative of the experience. It’s just too bad that in this instance, it coincided with a fraught political context, undermining and effectively silencing her. I encourage you to read this article in Vox, written by a journalist who has spent years speaking to Reade, collecting evidence to corroborate her story, and is still unsure about what to think. Believe what you want about the accusations made by Tara Reade, but me personally? I tend to believe survivors because I’d rather side with a liar than with a rapist.
As a survivor, it frightens me to know that sexual violence is still so normalized and even accepted in our society, that the highest office in one of the most powerful countries is going to continue to be held by an abuser for the next four years. I know that some may say it’s a problematic stance to take, that discussing Biden’s shortfalls will make it more likely that the left vote splits and Trump ends up in office again. I see your point - I really do. But I also think that our society silences survivors enough, and I think it’s important for us to be having this discussion if we actually want things to change in the future. The best future that I can envision is one in which Biden enlists a badass woman to be his running mate, to propel her forward to the 2024 presidency. So, yeah. For any Americans who may be reading this, please vote for Biden. Not because he’s a great candidate or because he represents noble qualities desired in a leader, but because it’s the only viable choice to make this world a safer place for women.
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