“Your body, my choice.” “I wouldn’t even rape you.” “You have no freedom.”
Misogyny online is nothing new. But female influencers on TikTok have told Newsweek that the election of Donald Trump has turbocharged abusive comments like these—and they fear it will mutate into real-life violence.
One of them said it was as if the president-elect had given men and boys a “permission slip to hate women” given his own history of sexual assault allegations, which he denies, and sexual bragging.
“As a woman,” Hannah Cor said, “I have constant fears. This is a scary time.”
On November 6, Trump won the 2024 presidential election, defeating his Democratic opponent Vice President Kamala Harris. In the days following, a palpable shift occurred online, the women said.
Far-right commentators and self-proclaimed misogynists like Nick Fuentes and Andrew Tate lauded Trump’s return to power and declared their control over women’s bodies.
“This misogynistic behavior is just the beginning,” Christian F. Nunes, president of the National Organization for Women, told Newsweek.
Photo Illustration by Newsweek/Getty Images
‘Your Body, My Choice’ How Misogyny Rose Online
In the hours following the election result, a post from a far-right political pundit went viral online. “Your body, my choice. Forever,” Nick Fuentes wrote on X, formerly Twitter. The post has been viewed over 92.3 million times at the time of writing.
Co-opting the feminist phrase, ‘My body, my choice,’ which was originally coined by women’s rights activists during the 1960s, Fuentes’ comment echoed across the internet, with men replying with the same phrase on women’s TikTok videos.
Your body, my choice. Forever.
— Nicholas J. Fuentes (@NickJFuentes) November 6, 2024
“It’s as though men specifically have some type of backing to say all their misogynistic thoughts out loud and somewhat proudly,” TikTok creator Megan Rochester told Newsweek. She said that she has experienced a “rise in violence online.”
Rochester said that men have been saying to her online, “Your body, my choice,” and leaving comments like “I wouldn’t even rape you.”
She’s not alone in this. Fellow TikToker Tyson said that she has had messages from men which had a misogynistic sentiment: “Your body is mine,” “Get back in the kitchen and cook me my dinner,” “you have no freedom.”
Hannah Cor/TikTok
The Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) reported on a post on X made by the influencer Andrew Tate which read, “I saw a woman crossing the road today but I just kept my foot down. Right of way? You no longer have rights,” and received 688,000 views in less than two hours. This post, alongside others from Tate reflecting a misogynistic sentiment, which he made in the hours after the election, have now been deleted.
Another X user stated, “women threatening sex strikes like LMAO as if you have a say”; the post has received 10 million views according to the ISD.
One account responded to Fuentes’ viral post, “No woman will ever let you impregnate her.” Another user replied, “We don’t need permission.”
The ISD also reported that there had been a rise in misogynistic language online, with the phrase “dumb c***”, used specifically to target women such as Harris and Rachel Maddow, receiving more than 64,000 mentions on X from over than 42,000 accounts on November 5.
Barbara Alper/Getty Images
In October, a study from the University of Hull reported that social media data analysis which looked at the prevalence of misogynistic content online revealed that 94.2 percent of participants had experienced content on social media that they would classify as misogynistic.
Misogyny is prohibited on TikTok under its community guidelines, TikTok classifies it as a hateful ideology and is clear that the company does not want misogynistic content on the platform. TikTok confirmed to Newsweek that the term ‘Your body, my choice,’ is included in this bracket.
An Environmental Shift
Has the environment shifted following the election? “Without question,” Tiana Sharifi, CEO of the Exploitation Education Institute, said. “There’s been a palpable shift in the type of engagement I receive, especially when I’m discussing sensitive or controversial topics like online safety, exploitation, or consent.”
“The atmosphere on TikTok post-election feels like it’s become a battleground, where the very act of speaking up for women’s rights or child safety is seen as a threat that needs to be attacked,” she said.
“Men who don’t follow me engage with my content in a pretty aggressive and just vile way,” said Hannah Cor, who describes herself on TikTok as an advocate for women’s healing and liberation.
amariifillt/TikTok
“I wasn’t getting misogynist comments,” Tyson told Newsweek, “It’s only since the election.”
“When I checked my analytics from my videos, I’ve seen that there has been more male interest and not for the right reasons,” Tyson said.
Rochester echoed this, “Since Trump’s win the presence online has changed a lot.”
Concerns Over Young Men
Cor highlighted that often this abuse is coming from young men. “I go to their profile, and they are wearing their high school graduation cap in their photo.”
“They probably weren’t even old enough to vote in this election,” she said.
Cor suggested that having “someone like Trump in power,” is giving “boys and men a permission slip to hate women and marginalized groups out loud.”
“They’re seeing the person running this country do it and have to suffer no consequences.”
TikTok/Tiana Sharifi
Sharifi had similar concerns. “It’s a devastating reflection of how deeply ingrained misogyny has become due to the new political landscape,” she said, citing social media algorithms and “bro-podcasts.” She noted that her husband, who she described as a “firm believer in women’s rights,” continues to “receive content that has an undertone of misogyny.”
Sharifi highlighted that her husband does not believe the content he gets exposed to online but that many young men do not think critically about their media consumption and are “susceptible to believing the toxic viewpoints that are being pushed onto them.”
“They are constantly being fed toxic content that normalizes violence, sexism and degrading views of women.”
“They’re being brainwashed by their social feeds to see women not as equals, but as targets for their frustration and rage.”
The University of Hull’s study reported that 81.9 percent of participants were concerned that misogynistic content online is influencing younger people to make the same kind of content on social media.
A Rise in Real World Violence
“I am deeply concerned that the normalization of violent, misogynistic rhetoric online is going to lead to more real-world violence,” Sharifi said.
“When you have algorithms and politicians normalizing or dismissing aggression, domination, and hatred towards women, it’s not just an online problem anymore. It’s creating a culture where violence against women is trivialized or even celebrated,” she said.
TikTok creator Marls Mahon concurred, “I’ve certainly felt threatened by some men online, so I do have concerns about a potential rise in violence post-election.”
Sarah Morris/Getty Images
“We are very concerned with the misogynistic and hateful comments that have been made,” Katie Young Wildes, senior communications specialist at Women Against Abuse, told Newsweek. “The rise in this rhetoric perpetuates a culture that condones violence against women.”
Nunes, from the National Organization for Women, had similar concerns, noting that the misogyny online “scares me to no end.”
“Not only will online violence rise,” Rochester said, “Violence not just against women will rise in real life as well.”
The concerns of these women creators highlight how the rise in online misogyny following the election has sparked concerns of real-life violence. Nunes emphasized this, “Under Trump’s America, women should be scared for their safety, their well-being and how they will survive.”
Trump, who has described himself as a “protector of women,” has been frequently criticized for remarks he has made about women. He has been accused multiple times of sexual misconduct, allegations he denies. Trump was found liable in 2023 for sexually abusing E. Jean Caroll in 1996, allegations which Trump has also denied and a verdict which he described as a “disgrace.”
Newsweek has reached out to the Trump campaign for comment outside of normal working hours.
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