Why Harris's Debate Performance Was Cathartic as Hell

Why Harris's Debate Performance Was Cathartic as Hell


Whether or not we've individually experienced sexual violence, sought abortion care, or had to contend with our own real-life versions of Donald Trump at some point in our lives, research shows that women experience "collective trauma," a concept first coined in Black and postcolonial literature to describe "both shared experiences of violence and their long after-effects or continuation among a population or group," according to a study done by feminist geographer Rachel Pain. Among other issues, the first Trump presidency unleashed a landslide of anti-women and anti-queer legislation that continues to bury us today, and a second Trump presidency promises to heap mud onto the pile. Still, I kept thinking about what my own trauma response would have looked like if it were me on stage with a sexual abuser and convicted felon, someone with no regard for my bodily autonomy and who's leading the movement to undo a century of work on my civil liberties.

Author: Emma Glassman-Hughes


Published at: 2024-09-11 22:52:20

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