‘Tramps Against Trump’ is pushing a new kind of activism
In November, the US will vote for its next president. Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton – now both officially nominated by their respective parties – will be going head to head in what will probably be one of the most dirty and divisive political battles of our lifetimes. Will “crooked” Clinton manage to override the polls and beat Trump? Or will a racist, sexist demagogue be taking the helm of the most powerful country in the world?
While much of the US feels (understandably) unenthused about either of these options, many will still do anything to prevent the latter. In fact, activist group ‘Tramps Against Trump’ are so desperate to block the billionaire businessman’s bid, that they’re actually sending out nude selfies to the citizens that refuse to vote for him.
Following in the footsteps of Canada’s ‘Sluts Against Harper’ campaign – which ultimately helped swing the election for new PM Justin Trudeau – this new US spin-off is giving out nudes to whoever votes against the Republican nominee (as long as they provide solid photographic evidence). According to group’s pseudonymous founder, ‘Jessica Rabbit’, the campaign is an effective way of encouraging young people to take back their future, and understand the power of voting. “All genders are getting naked!” she says, with excitement. “It's been amazing.”
We caught up with Rabbit to find out more about the campaign, and why she thinks nudes can change the world.
Firstly, tell me about the founding process behind Tramps against Trump. What made you want to start it?
Jessica Rabbit: As the American election process started to unfold, we started to realise that Donald Trump was a real threat, not just a joke, so we reached out to Sluts Against Harper and asked them what it would mean for us to translate their campaign into an American context. They were so supportive and helped us get off the ground. The sex positive activist community is uniting across borders to keep misogynistic men out of the government, and we hope this kind of campaign will continue to translate in other countries all over the world.
A number of you working on this campaign are sex workers. How would Trump be damaging to your careers, and what are your biggest concerns?
Jessica Rabbit: I'm not sure if Trump would make the political climate worse for sex workers, but based on his damaging view of women, we can only assume it would not be good for our community. With that said, I think we are highlighting sex workers involvement in the campaign very intentionally, not out of fear of what could come, but to raise the visibility of sex workers in our society.
“The sex positive activist community is uniting across borders to keep misogynistic men out of the government” – Jessica Rabbit
How do you feel like sex work is portrayed in US society?
Jessica Rabbit: Sex workers often are deemed invisible by the activism community, or viewed as people who need to be ‘rescued,’ when in fact many movements have stood on the shoulders of sex workers. Stonewall was started by trans WOC who were sex workers, and yet the LBGTQ movement has been quick to erase this part of their history, to separate themselves, to instead engage in respectability politics to further those most privileged within the community. We refuse to deem them invisible, they are crucial members of the sex AND activism community. They are powerful, smart, and better versed in sex politics than anyone else in the landscape. Knowledge around sexuality is their currency. They have so much to offer, there is so much we can learn from them. We are ready to lift up their voices and give them a place where they will never be shamed, never be "rescued", where their work is celebrated and their voices are heard. That in itself is radical. Sex workers have often been on the front lines of activism throughout history, and we want to make an intentional effort to showcase that. You can't have a meaningful campaign engaging sex and gender politics without engaging sex workers.
What has the reaction been like since you began the project?
Jessica Rabbit: Overwhelming. Amazing. Hilarious. We have seen ‘Tramps Against Trump’ translate into protest signs, even ‘Trump Vs. Tramp’ signs circulate at the RNC. Good or bad, we have somehow managed to infiltrate the rhetoric around this campaign. We have created language and ideas people are engaging in. That's so fucking powerful! We can't believe it. We couldn't have dreamed for this to have such a major impact already, and we are working hard to make that impact even bigger and stronger every single day.
Have any Trump supporters got in contact with you? How have you dealt with the criticism?
Jessica Rabbit: Yes, of course. We have so much fun with our haters. Trump supporters are so incredibly dumb – both politically and socially – that we literally sit around and laugh at the angry tweets. Where are our intellectual haters? We are waiting for you.
Have you got any strategy for dealing with the actual election later this year? I imagine you’re going to get bombarded pretty heavily.
Jessica Rabbit: We have a few strategies ready to go depending on how slammed we get. The main idea is to have a huge naked party with a bunch of food and activists sending live nudes all day. We are in talks with our tech friends as well to create automatic filters. We have time, so we aren't too worried yet, or too overly focused on Election Day. We have so much more we want to focus on and accomplish before then.
You say that you are not pro any particular party. Is that because you don’t feel particularly moved by any of them, or because you want to consciously remain impartial?
Jessica Rabbit: I would say both. We are consciously impartial, because we don't want to alienate people like this election has done. We want people to show up and vote! That's the biggest priority. We also want to critique everyone, no one is safe from TEAM TRAMPS. We aren't blinded by political parties. This whole election is a shit show, it's like the season finale of America and they are pulling out every last stop.