The rise of the strongman leader: how misogyny became a political tactic in the US election   

The phrase “your body, my choice” was trending on social media in the aftermath of Donald Trump’s US election victory.

Posted by mostly male users, the statement is as a blatant attack on women’s bodily autonomy and hails the new wave of modern misogyny that has emerged following Trump’s win.  

@stf_1111

Go to therapy if you vote for trump. #kamalaharris #💙 #bear #fyp #woman #2025future #womansrights

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Dr Elise Stephenson, Deputy Director of the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership, reflected on the gendered nature of the recent election on Democracy Sausage with Mark Kenny, a podcast from The Australian National University (ANU).  

Stephenson said the glass cliff Kamala Harris faced during her campaign is an all too familiar view for women in politics.

“When you look at the data, on almost every measure women have higher qualifications when it comes to political office, they’re also expected to have higher qualifications,” Stephenson said.

“There are greater consequences for their wrongdoing … the data indicates that female voters are more likely to punish female politicians for any perceived transgressions.

“I think that what we see from Trump is this weaponised misogyny, and misogyny used as a political tactic.”

Degrading Harris appeared to be a central strategy of Trump’s campaign.  At the Madison Square Garden Trump rally, financial influencer Grant Cardone likened Harris to a prostitute, saying “her and her pimp handlers will destroy our country”.

Such remarks on a world stage, in addition to lewd X posts from Trump, damaged the public’s perception of Harris’s ability to run the country.

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“There’s that joke that ‘true equality will come when women can be just as mediocre as men’,” said Dr Marija Taflaga from the ANU School of Politics and International Relations.

“Some of the anecdotal or qualitative evidence around why people might not have voted for Kamala Harris relates to whether or not they could see her as the Commander in chief, whether or not she could handle the military, whether or not she could stand up to Putin.”

Stephenson added that the adversarial and, at times, misogynistic language used during rallies raised questions about the leadership abilities of effective political campaigners.

“I think there’s a difference between those who campaign well and those who run countries well, and this is not to really support either side,” she said.

“But the characteristics that are needed to campaign well are usually highly competitive and aggressive. They fit into our ideas of that strongman leader, right?

“[Strongman leaders] certainly don’t draw on empathy often. That is not seen favourably in a campaigning setting, even though that actually is what rates highest when it comes to running countries.”   

Whether online or off, the impact of misogyny in the political arena can no longer be ignored.

@abbiechatfield

Replying to @Big Paul

♬ original sound – Abbie Chatfield

“The last time Trump was elected we saw ripple effects around the world, and we have seen since then … so many different cases of Trumpist figures,” Stephenson says.

“And even in Australia we do see some of that [populist] language filter through – we recently had abortion raised again in Queensland elections by Robbie Katter.

“The terrifying thing for me is the normalising factor. It’s normal to just have a go at anyone, it’s normal to be racist and misogynistic so overtly.”