Warnings: Talk of Sexual Harassment and online bullying
After this year’s 2024 elections, a sudden round of misogynistic and sexist comments have flooded online media platforms, with some following students to school. Soon after the elections ended, a comment was posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. The comment was posted by Nick Fuentes, and it contained the phrase “Your body, my choice”. Who is Nick Fuentes? And why are his posts sparking outrage and fear in communities and schools?
Nick Fuentes has been coined to be a white supremacist and anti-Semite. He streams online with Cozy.tv, a live-streaming platform that was released on January 1, 2013. According to ADL, they listed some of the platforms that he used to post on and was banned from. Some of these included: Reddit, YouTube, TickTok, Spotify, and DLive where he used to stream.
After the phrase, “Your body, my choice” was posted, there have been multiple reports and evidence of comments. There were mentions of rape, abuse, and even commentary about abortion rights. According to MSNBC, “In just a 24-hour span after the election, researchers reportedly found a 4,600% increase in mentions of the terms ‘your body, my choice’ and ‘get back in the kitchen’ on X’.”
There have also been comments on posts that jest about women who are fighting against sexual abuse around the world. According to MSI United States, “only 55% of women are able to make their own decisions about things like whether to use contraception or have sex”. MSI is an organization that is trying to promote healthcare for women around the world.
The phrase “your body, my choice”, is a parallel when compared to the other popular phrase, “my body, my choice”. The former has been thriving on social media posts and is also seeing a lot of traction world-wide.
“My body, my choice” had evolved from a similar slogan, “my body, my decision”. “My body, my decision” was put on a sign that was used during a Philadelphia protest, only a few years before Roe v. Wade. The phrase was originally used to fight for abortion rights. However, as time went on, more people began to use the term, “my body, my rights” for not just abortion rights, but also for pro-feminism.
While the “your body, my choice” post has a very negative connotation online, it is becoming an issue for students in schools as well. There have been emails sent out by different school administrators to the student’s parents regarding the well-being of their children within the past month. High school teachers have also received emails or participated in meetings that talk about future regulations of the hallways.
Some of the students, primarily boys or young men, have been harassing girls and young women in the hallways on their way to their classes. There are also submitted reports of inappropriate touching and specific repetition of the phrase, “your body, my choice”. There have also been different comments that surround the same phrase. And while some of the students in different schools may not notice it, others are being harassed for simply being a woman.
It seems to not be happening much at Sentinel due to the increased presence of teachers in the hallway during passing periods. Although, the administration and some of the teachers are still concerned about the thought of it happening.
“I decided that I wasn’t going to give that same power by sending something to the students that could plant the seed in someone’s mind that maybe didn’t exist before”, Sentinel principal Stephanie Thennis states. “There were no reports of anything or talk of it actually being planned or occurring at Sentinel”.
Thennis recognizes that in order to prevent students from spreading hurtful comments that surround the phrase “your body, my choice”, she must prevent the students from being aware that it is a thing. She does this so the school can keep their upper hand on the issue without it being a large-scale problem overall.
While Sentinel does not seem to be facing these problems, other schools around the US are dealing with more harsh realities. According to an email from a teacher to CNN, the teacher gmailed, “In the days after the election, we have received reports of some students using the phrase, ‘Your body, my choice,’ often directed at female students”.
And while this may seem like a relatively small number compared to the amount of districts around the United States, it may be the first of many. Especially as time goes on, more people are going to feel more comfortable with saying the phrase if it isn’t addressed right away.
However, it is always hard to control what can be seen on social media and even harder to prevent similar things from happening offline. And while it seems unlikely that the problem will ever go away, there can always be steps to prevent its usage from happening as much as it is now.
Parents addressing social media usage and talking to their children about it is always a good way to start. It helps create a connection between the parents and their child. It also prevents students from saying hurtful things to other students when they don’t understand what it means.
Administrators sending emails to families, teachers, and students addressing these problems may also bring a positive change among the school and may help bring safety to those who need it. Administrators are also setting up new jobs for their teachers in the school buildings in order to prevent what they can and protect their students.
This behavior online is not okay or good. People are feeling threatened and scared over these insensitive comments, either online or in person. Younger students are struggling to understand the meaning of the phrase and just repeating it in public spaces. There have already been reports and emails being sent out regarding people’s well-being.
