After Donald Trump was elected President, an uproar of various emotions took hold in the United States of America. Whether it was a good idea or a total idiot move is up to you, but one thing has gotten my attention: Is Donald Trump making men more sexist?

A study by University of Wharton students showed that there was an increase in men becoming more sexist due to Donald Trump being elected. In this study, two participants at a time were given $20 and had to split it amongst themselves. Some were told the other’s gender, and some people’s gender remained anonymous. If they did not negotiate with each other then they would both obtain no money. The students state that before the election, men were more willing to agree with their partner, but that stopped after the election.

Sophomore student Ally Glucksman gives her opinion on this study, stating the study is  “clear and presents a point.” She also explains that they “[understand] that their opinion does not apply to everyone.” However, she argues that “the evidence appears [to] spread thinly across multiple areas and too concentrated in others.”

The conclusion of the study was that after the election, men used “adversarial strategies” and had trouble making an agreement. This apparently was because of “an increase in men acting more aggressively toward women.” It was hypothesised that the men took after Trump, using tactics associated with Donald Trump’s book The Art of the Deal.  

But this study has become confusing, as the two students who were responsible for the study have stated that “between male and female partners, a sort-of sexism was always present, it just happened to become more overt after Trump won elective office.” There also seemed to be a case in the study which showed that men were more respective of women after the election.

Because of the inconsistency, I believe that this study should not be the only source of facts. They do not specify how long before and after the election, the study was tested, or how many people participated. Also, there are more possible factors that could have led the men to be more “sexist” other than Trump, although we can only imagine since it was not specifically mentioned what they could be.

Grace Yang