The time was ripe for a cultural conversation about the sexual double standard—popularly referred to in recent years as “slut-shaming.” During the second presidential debate, one month before the election, Hillary Clinton had the chance to confront Donald Trump about his sexual objectification of women and the manner in which he upheld a sexual double standard. But Clinton remained silent—most likely to protect her husband's political legacy as well as her own. She allowed an opportunity to educate Americans about slut-shaming to pass by. And it is possible that she lost the election as a result.

The Slut-Shaming Landscape in the Fall of 2016

To understand how important that moment was, we need to remember what was at stake in the months leading up to the election. The sexual double standard—the mindset that boys will be boys, and girls will be sluts—was deeply entrenched. Trump had made it clear that in his opinion, women's primary value came from being sexually desirable— yet paradoxically, he devalued women whom he considered sexually desirable; he also devalued women whom he judged insufficiently sexually desirable, including his political opponent. Some of his supporters agreed with this worldview, shouting, “Hillary is a whore!” and “Tramp!” at his political rallies.

A serious, thoughtful conversation about slut-shaming was, and remains, necessary because this mindset props up sexual assault. If a woman is sexually assaulted, she must either secretly want it—or she has done something to deserve it, the thinking goes. Slut-shaming protects sexual assaulters. It was not surprising that when Fox News chief executive Roger Ailes was forced out of the network in July 2016 due to allegations that he had sexually harassed multiple women, Trump hired him as a campaign adviser. Trump explained that he felt “very badly” for Ailes, “a very, very good person,” and that “I can tell you that some of the women who are complaining, I know how much he's helped them.”

On October 7, 2016, the Washington Post released a 2005 Access Hollywood recording of Trump saying it was acceptable to grab women by their genitals against their will. Thousands of women loudly said #NotOkay on social media, sharing their own stories of sexual assault online and with reporters.