TopicalThe Week on Twitter

The Week on Twitter | Black Monday, Trump Tapes, & Kim Kardashian

By Jade Hayden

This week, Kim Kardashian was robbed, Polish women went on strike for reproductive rights, and the Trump tapes were released.

Thousands strike in Poland for abortion rights #BlackMonday #CzarnyProtest

On Monday, over 100,000 people took to the streets in Poland to protest the government’s threat to implement an almost total ban on abortion. Women in cities from all over the country donned all black and launched an all-out strike to protest a bill that if passed would criminalise those who had terminations. Poland already has some of the strictest abortion laws in Europe with the procedure only being legal in cases of rape, incest, or if there is a significant risk to the life of the mother.

Following #BlackMonday came reports that the conservative Law & Justice party (PiS) were preparing to withdraw the bill entirely. Members of parliament voted against the bill in their droves, with 352 votes against and only 58 in favour of further restricting abortion services. Head of PiS, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, stated that although he was pro-life, he did not support changing the law.

The bill was originally drafted by an anti-choice, Catholic Church-supported group. It had gained over 450,000 signatures by the time of its submission to parliament. However, eventually even members of the Church were saying they could not support a law that sentenced women to five years in prison for having an abortion.

#TrumpTapes force Donald to ‘apologise’ for sexist, demeaning comments

Recordings of Donald Trump saying that when you’re a star, women let you “grab them by the pussy” emerged on Friday night, forcing the Republican candidate to issue a statement sort-of half apologising for treating women like sex objects but really just laying into the Clintons some more.

The #TrumpTapes feature Trump and ex-host of Access Hollywood Billy Bush discussing Trump’s attempt to “move on” an unnamed married woman. The potential (but unlikely, hopefully) next president of the United States then began speaking about actress Arianna Zucker in a derogatory manner, stating that sometimes when he sees an attractive woman he “just start(s) kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait.”

Trump then said that “When you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.”

The recording was met by disgust by everyone who knows that speaking about women in such a horrifc way simply proves that you have absolutely no respect for them. Unsurprisingly, the footage triggered somewhat of a non-reaction from Trump supporters, who seem to be claiming that such statements are just ‘banter’ and ‘normal’ conversations for men to have.

(Spoilers; they’re not.)

https://twitter.com/cher/status/784653156592431104

Following the release of the tape, Trump took to his Facebook page to say sorry for the comments that are over 10 years old so therefore unimportant or something. He claimed that leaking the audio was a “distraction” from “important issues” totally disregarding the fact that sexual assault and rape culture are definitely important issues in America and all over the world. He then started talking about how untrustworthy Hillary Clinton is. Again.

Women on Twitter responded by tweeting their first memories of being sexually assaulted to show that they weren’t just a statistic. Thousands of users used the hashtag #notokay to share their stories.

#KimKardashian held at gunpoint in Paris hotel

On Monday morning it was reported that Kim Kardashian had been held hostage and robbed in her hotel in Paris. It is believed that Kim was tied up with the hotel’s concierge as five men posing as police officers robbed jewellery worth about $12 million.

Some people blamed Kim for the robbery, claiming that she shouldn’t have flaunted her wealth so overtly on social media if she didn’t want to get robbed. These people should not be listened to, as one can probably assume that we would all know the Kardashians are pretty damn rich regardless of how many Instagrams they post.

Other people made jokes about the situation, because y’know, a woman being tied up and robbed and essentially fearing for her life is really fucking funny. Except it’s not, and these people are idiots.

Kim is reportedly blaming herself for the robbery.

https://twitter.com/cradlesuplex/status/782874792558989312

Featured image source

Jade Hayden 144 posts 0 comments

Jade Hayden has an MA in journalism, a degree in English, and a house rabbit who sleeps in her bed sometimes. You'll often find her wearing glasses, fixing her fringe, and complaining about the amount of time she spends on public transport. Jade is also the editor of HeadStuff's topical section, and she'd love if you sent your submissions over to [email protected].

You might also like More from author