The Latest on Slut-Shaming

Last week, ultra-conservative TV personality Tucker Carlson spoke at a Georgia rally for Trump and compared those who politically diverge from Trump as “a hormone-addled 15-year-old girl slamming the door and giving you the finger… Dad comes home and he’s pissed. He’s not vengeful; he loves his children. Disobedient as they may be, he loves them… And when Dad gets home, you know what he says? 'You’ve been a bad girl. You’ve been a bad little girl and you’re getting a vigorous spanking right now. And no, it’s not going to hurt me more than it hurts you. No, it’s not. I’m not going to lie. It’s going to hurt you a lot more than it hurts me. And you earned this. You’re getting a vigorous spanking because you’ve been a bad girl, and it has to be this way.'”

Translation: Carlson equated those who politically diverge from Trump to little girls and justified violence against them. He then went even further and said that the person experiencing this violence deserves to feel physical pain.

I told USA Today that I get that he was speaking metaphorically, but his metaphor justifies violence against girls, women, and others who present as women, identify as women, or who are disparaged as women. This is terrifying language with real-world consequences. People now believe they have permission to inflict physical harm on others, particularly girls and women.

Spanking references parental discipline, but it also has sexual connotations. Carlson implicitly endorsed sexual assault, especially when you don’t like or agree with someone. He mocked the principle that “no” means “no.” And he was rewarded with the approval of Trump's supporters, who loved this message.

It should surprise no one that Carlson was asked to warm up the crowd at the rally of a slut-shamer and convicted sexual abuser. These are the same rallies, by the way, where T-shirts calling Vice President Kamala Harris a "hoe" are best-sellers.

Decent people need to speak up loudly to denounce these comments not only in the next few days before Election Day but also afterward. Regardless of who wins the election, the fact is that millions find Carlson's endorsement of violence against women entertaining, and that is something we will need to contend with no matter who is sworn in on January 20. 

Starting to think about holiday gifts? You can never go wrong with a book.

I selected my top three books of 2024. These books, all nonfiction, focus on women’s bodily autonomy. You can read about them on Shepherd.com.

Celebrating Halloween? Read my piece on costumes and slut-shaming. (From 2015)

My hot takes on dress-coding