Scared, heartbroken, conflicted, surprised, excited and devastated.
At the University of Alabama, women’s reactions to Donald Trump’s election cover every emotion. Some women mourn the loss of Vice President Kamala Harris’ chance to be America’s first female president, while others breathe sighs of relief as they look forward to Trump’s presidency.
Angelina Bearden, a junior majoring in computer science, felt a personal loss when Harris lost the election.
“As a Black woman, it’s more than just gender; it’s a combination of gender and race. There’s so much legislation around women’s bodies happening, and those text messages are going around,” Bearden said, referencing a series of apparently coordinated racist texts young Black Americans across the country received last week from anonymous numbers. “It’s scary. I’m disappointed but I’m not surprised.”
National exit polls conducted by NBC News show that 91% of Black women who voted chose to do so for Harris, the largest unified racial or gendered group out of either candidate.
“There’s been so much comparison to our first Black president and the way he was able to command both of his election years,” said Daja James, a sophomore majoring in theatre. “I think Kamala’s inability to do that is a testament to how much Black women have to prove themselves and still get told no.”
Not all women see this election as a loss for womanhood. Some are relieved about Trump’s victory because of his promises to push the issues of pro-life and anti-transgender legislation.
“I was really excited as a woman because I know Trump is more likely to protect women’s spaces, particularly women’s bathrooms and women’s locker rooms, from biological males,” said Isabella Dini, a junior majoring in political science.
Dini identifies as a pro-life woman and categorized abortion as one of the most important issues for her this election. She said she finds it sad that liberal women have fallen for misinformation about a total abortion ban because Trump doesn’t support such a ban.
Trump has changed his statements on abortion several times, most recently saying that he would not support a national abortion ban. Trump has ties to Project 2025, a plan that aims to criminalize the use of the abortion pill Mifepristone and to dismantle abortion protections, but has publicly disavowed the project.
Sheryfat Osinboyejo, a freshman majoring in computer science, said that while the legal system wouldn’t discriminate against a female president, the American people would.
“At the end of the day a lot of people don’t realize that they don’t want women in on [government], and it’s very obvious,” Osinboyejo said.
A U.S. News poll found that 68% of voters in swing states believe that the country is ready for a woman president, and 82% believe that a woman could be an effective president.
Some students don’t see gender as an issue that affected the outcome of this election. Dini said that she didn’t consider gender to be a factor in whom she voted for.
“Seeing a female president doesn’t sway anything for me, because I know that a woman could be president. I don’t need to see a woman be president for me to know that I could be or my daughter could be one day,” Dini said.
Trump’s history of derogatory statements toward women has followed him throughout his campaigns. At a Trump rally on Nov. 3, an audience member yelled comments suggesting Harris was a prostitute, to which Trump replied “this place is amazing.”
One of his most infamous statements about women came from the Access Hollywood tapes, in which he bragged about being able to grab women by their genitals due to his celebrity status.
“It goes to show how much people don’t care about character, and how little character matters for people who are able to lead entire nations,” James said.
Despite her personal feelings towards the statements, Dini doesn’t believe that Trump’s actions and words about women should affect his ability to run the country.
“I don’t think there’s a concern when it comes to leadership. I don’t like the comments. They’re rude and offensive to me. But to think that other candidates and women also don’t make those same kinds of comments is absolutely ridiculous,” Dini said.
While some women are pleased by the results of the election, others are preparing for a loss of rights as abortion pill and birth control sales spike.
“Trump’s election shows how America hasn’t changed our ideals,” Bearden said. “At the end of the day, it’s still a white man’s world we’re living in.”
