Sometimes I wonder why I punish myself by still reading Slate, the answer is occasionally you come across buried nuggets like this:
Sometimes the election’s psychic fallout takes less obvious forms. Silvestri, for example, has noticed a curious phenomenon among some of the millennial women in her practice: The rise of Trump has made them wonder how much they can reasonably expect from romantic relationships…
It’s not just that Trump reminds them of their exes. It’s that Trump’s success seems to validate the men’s behavior. “They had gotten themselves to a place of, This is not what I deserve, I deserve better, I can do better,” Silvestri says. But watching dutiful, responsible Clinton struggle to best Trump, “people are really backtracking and saying, ‘I made this move to be more empowered and be who I am based on my values, but now I see my ex writ large on the national stage, and everyone’s following him,’ ” Silvestri says. They start thinking that, for a woman, maybe being beautiful really is more important than being smart, assertive, and authentic.
The quote comes from a psychologist who, if you do some digging, has offices by NYU.
So, straight from the horse’s mouth: the mere nomination of Donald Trump is inspiring urban millennial elite women to give up on confrontational feminism in favor of charming femininity as a source of self-identity and -value.