She’s exotic, wild, uninhibited and fiery — she is a conquest in the eyes of many men, sought for her beauty and not-usually seen features. She has almond eyes and dark skin, her hair is gorgeous locks of curls that hang freely around her face. She is a vision of lust, desire and she knows it. However, this goddess is not enjoying the attention. In fact, she hates it. She has become a fetish for the white men who call her things like “African goddess” or “chocolate honey” or a similar call. She is sexualized because she is a woman of color, and even though she is hypothetical, many real women experience this on a daily basis in our supposedly culturally evolved society.

Women have historically been the object of sexual exploitation and fetishism, however that type of objectification more than triples when it comes to women of color. Despite the opposition to the sexual objectification of women no one pays attention until it happens to a white woman.

When the candid comments from President-elect Donald Trump where he spoke about grabbing women by “the pussy,” the nation was appalled. Many people called for him to be held accountable for his comments and alleged actions, but no one seemed to care about his previous actions against women of color. This did not go unnoticed by WOC who have experienced this kind of sexism throughout the span of their lives.

Afternoon radio host and Social media director at 93.1/94.5 KSLG-FM, Sabina Gallier, said although she was infuriated by Trumps comments, she was not surprised that it took an attack on a white woman for outrage to rise amongst his own party.

“You hear a lot of Republicans up in arms about PoC being the perpetrators of the racial divide plaguing the country and yet when Michelle Obama is referred to as a ‘gorilla’ by republicans, what do we hear from them? Nothing. Silence. There [SIC] is a part of the divide. To some individuals, it’s as if PoC don’t exist unless they want to showcase stereotypes, generalizations and the ridiculous argument of ‘Black on black’ crime.”

This, Gallier said, is due to “Racism. Plain and simple.” According to Gallier, the standard of beauty in America is the white woman, and because of this there is a “colorism” amongst different communities of color.

“You have a rift where a beautiful Black woman pines after lighter skin and straighter hair so she will be acknowledged and cared about. The darker you are, the less you matter to a lot of White individuals.”

She added that, “Racist practices have been a part of the GOP for years, along with a lack of diversity.”

Although many would balk at the notion that Trump’s words are endemic of a men’s locker room, it would be remiss to believe that, though extreme, his comments are reflective of a prejudicial society. Walk into any social space where men feel comfortable enough to speak candidly and you will hear them talk about women in sometimes disparaging ways, often in a sexual context.

As children, boys are taught by their fathers or other male figures that this kind of talk is not acceptable in public A.K.A. in front of women. This faux-chivalry—because a truly chivalrous man would not behave this way even amongst other men—only extends to women when they can be viewed as a type of commodity.

For example, at a barbecue it is easy to see a father or group of men scolding a child for swearing in front of his mother or sisters. The common refrain is something along the lines of “don’t say [blank] in front of your mother.” However, when conversation turns sexual, you are more akin to hear something like, “Yeah bruh, I’d tap that so hard.” Not to say that talking about sex or sexual desire is wrong, it is the manner in which it is done.

When you objectify women sexually you remove their humanity and reduce them to a tool for sexual gratification.

The sexual objectification becomes more of an issue when you look at how women of color are treated compared to white women. Take the fetishization of Asian women for example. In 2015, Paula Young Lee wrote in Salon about her experience being fetishized as an Asian women.

She writes, “In my 20s, I ran so far away from men with Asian fetishes that I ended up running away to Paris, only to find myself promptly (and inaccurately) turned into ‘la belle Japonaise’ by Frenchmen fascinated by my…feet.”

Young Lee compares what its like to be an Asian woman fetishized by men to the experience of being feasted upon by mosquitos.

“Emotionally, this is how it feels to be pestered by suitors with ‘Yellow Fever.’ What we object to—what all women object to, really,—should be obvious, for nobody likes being reduced to a preferential lust object. A target instead of a human being. This is the cri de coeur of Asian women everywhere: Stop fetishizing me!”

https://prezi.com/user/da1ysc2u53my/

Sadly, the line isn’t drawn with Asian women. Black women have long been the subject of objectification by men of all races, and as Christine Mwaturura points out on Madame Noir, this is often a catch-22:

“Racial fetishism is hardly a new concept. It’s well documented that Black women suffered horrendous sexual crimes at the hands of colonial and slave masters as Black women were often merely regarded, by their oppressors, as objects of sexual gratification. The hypersexualized images of Black women which have persisted throughout history and into present day media have continued to feed into this monster. Take for instance ‘Hottentot Venus,’ a South-African woman who was exhibited in live shows in 19th-century Europe for viewers to gawk at her large posterior; in the 1980s, Jean Paul Goude’s art book titled Jungle Fever featuring photographs of the Black female form — equally riveting and offensive in their allure; and let’s not forget our present day video vixens. This imagery perpetuates the stereotype of Black women being kinky creatures guaranteed to give you the sexual ride of your life”

Mwaturura continues to say that although this objectification is pervasive, it is also an extreme opposite to the way black women are portrayed in, you guessed it, media. Oftentimes black women have to face a landscape where “good” hair and light skin are favored compared to other traits.

She writes: “I can’t help but somewhat agree with writer Zara Chiron who says, ‘But with the fetishization of Black women, our Afro beauty is being perceived as something desirable which bizarrely gives rise to a positive point for us. We can be sex symbols; we too can be sought after as physically attractive and sexually appealing—in a world full of Barbie, majority white (Disney) princesses and movie heroines and protagonists. We are, finally, being portrayed—however questionably, in a way that says we are not completely repulsive as women.’”

Gallier said that her experience as a woman of color in a predominately white area, Humboldt County, has been both dehumanizing and terrifying. Part of that is that because she is a black woman, she transforms from an actual person to an object of curiosity to some people.

“I have had people snap my head back because they wanted to feel my hair before I walked away, I had a woman call my manager on me because I told her she could not touch my hair. I’ve been called ‘Chocolate Princess,’ I’ve been told that I should rent out my ‘freakness’ because there’s ‘nothing like being with a Black chick.’ It’s so degrading, it’s not flattering and when I know it’s happening, I don’t feel human. I feel like I’ve been dressed up in a fantasy that I want no part of.”

So how does this play into Trump’s vulgarity? Because of the sexual fetishization of WOC, it is a fair guess to say that there probably would not have been as much backlash from the GOP had Trump been talking about a black, Asian, Middle Eastern or Hispanic women. Although some could argue otherwise, take the behavior of Trump supporters as a whole. These people have consistently made disparaging remarks towards minorities and celebrated Trump’s racist platform.

When former Miss Universe, Alicia Mercado, came forward about the torment and ridicule she experienced at the hands of Donald Trump, the community so outraged by Mr. Trump’s comments on a hot mic during a segment with Access Hollywood’s Billy Bush remained silent.

One of the key arguments brought up by the silent majority is the need for beauty queens to be “in-shape.” Using this logic those who have stood up for Trump continue to devalue and dehumanize Machado and other WoC as a whole. Even after Trump issued a half-baked apology for his remarks on Access Hollywood, many of his followers still do not view his comments as offensive.

More curiously, many women came to his defense using the “boys-will-be-boys” logic to deflect blame. But for those who were offended by the hot mic incident, there is a lack of empathy and outrage for the comments he’s made of minorities and women of color. This, Gallier said, is due in part to the history of racial fetishization of bodies of color.

“Saartjie Baartman aka ‘The Hottentot Venus’ was paraded around naked in a cage in the 19th century at freak shows and in front of ‘scientists’ so they could stare and prod her buttocks and genitalia. Her body type was unknown to them. To them, she satisfied some grotesque fascination and yet she was treated like an animal because of her race. These racist values exist today.”

Those values could be seen at any of Trump’s rallies or the many videos of his supporters talking negatively about PoC.

As long as we as a nation continue to devalue, exploit, sexualize, and fetishize the bodies of PoC—more so WOC—men like Trump will continue to hide behind the “locker room” talk and racist banter as a means for degrading women and minorities. And let’s be real about this, if Trump had made sexually perverse comments about Machado or Gallier, those who jumped ship would still be warmly nestled in Trumps ass protecting themselves from the ire of the people they walk on; from the people of color who find themselves at a loss for equal and fair treatment while a tyrant marches towards the White House.

Header graphic by Angelica Cruz