The Republican Party is a Russian nesting doll of rapists.

They’re not just normalizing sexual assault, they’re rewarding it with power.

*Legal disclaimer: I meant to say “likely rapists, probable rapists, adjudicated rapists, his mom didn’t explicitly call him a rapist, rapist-adjacent, rapist-esque, free-range rapists, its not rape if you use your fingers rapists, rapist-infused, paying a high schooler for sex is not rape rapists, rapist-like and I can’t believe it’s not a rapist.”

[I don’t wanna get sued for some erroneous reason and then have to undermine all of my credibility and integrity while I prematurely bend the knee and obey in advance because I’m rather unfortunately not so irrationally terrified of the Burnt Sienna Psychopath coming after me].

Now, if I may so boldly continue to expound upon the Rapist Renaissance underway without the consent of an old white man I don’t know, I do have some thoughts on this subject, because given the latest revelations on Matt Gaetz and the worst kept secrets of scumbagginess in the history of scumbags, it seems rather timely, although with the Trumpian Cabinet who’s who of sexual abusers, it’s really more evergreen than anything, but I dare to digress.

You see, as hard as it is to watch the Grand Poobah of Pussy Grabbers continue to surround himself with a sexual abusing circle jerk of sick fucks like Hegseth, Gaetz and RFK Jr, witnessing the self-sabotaging sycophantic suck-ups from the Sisterhood of the Traveling Implants like Kristi Noem and Nancy Mace chisel away on their “Mt. Rapemore” of abusive men is downright fucking disgusting.

It’s more than the fact that these predatory men are being rewarded with power, it’s what they want to DO with their power. To women and to girls. To victims and survivors. That’s what upsets me most.

The Noems, Maces and Katie Britts of the world are assisting those monsters in forcing miscarrying women to contend with sepsis, to face losing their own lives, before they can receive medical care. And that alone is grotesque… but the inhumanity of forcing rape victims to carry a resulting pregnancy to term is such savagery, such sadistic, heartless, callously degrading brutality, it’s almost too hellish to fathom.

It’s also infuriating as hell, and if I’m being honest, as a survivor myself, it’s deeply triggering too.

I was raped when I was 17 years old by someone I thought was my friend.

My rapist didn’t just take my virginity, he took my dignity, too. He took away my senses of self, safety, and security. He took away my friends and destroyed my reputation. He altered forever, my past, my present, and my future.

My concept of sex was still based on what I had seen in the movies, so I naively believed that girls always lost their virginity gently and tenderly in some candlelit love-scene set to a Tears for Fears song. But mine was taken from me with the sharp, burning, ripping pain of sexual assault.

I had tried to tell my friends what had happened. I tried to tell them he forced himself inside me. They didn’t believe me. I was a “whore” and he was a “hero.” My only reality was shame.

I have carried the trauma of that rape with me for 33 years. In ways big and small, some imperceptible, some quite literally standing up and slapping me in the face. The trauma has never fully gone away.

But I’ve never been able to physically touch it.

I’ve never had to contend with morning sickness because of it. Never had to burp it, bathe it, or diaper it. I’ve never had to hold it to my breast while it looked up at me with its rapist father’s face.

There are tens of thousands of women and girls in this country right now for whom that is not true. Their trauma is not only etched into their minds, it’s in their wombs, in their arms, and suckling at their breast.

And I simply cannot fathom the inhumanity of forcing that reality upon anyone. Especially not someone who was raped.

A study came out last spring which concluded that since the overturning of Roe v. Wade in June 2022, there have been an estimated 520,000 rapes in 14 red states with partial or total abortion bans. And out of that number, there have been roughly 64,000 pregnancies resulting from rape.

Sixty-four thousand.

And in those same red states over that same time span, there have only been 10 or fewer legal abortions in each of those states. Ten.

So what options does a pregnant rape victim have in a state like Texas? Are they able to drive or fly to a blue state thousands of miles away? Take off work, pay for travel, find a doctor, have a procedure, stay at least two nights and then travel home?

Most are forced to carry the baby to term. Forced to carry that perpetual, physical reminder of pain. Their shame and guilt, fear, sadness, and anger in the flesh, needing to be nurtured, protected and loved by them.

How does someone reconcile that?

Their reproductive autonomy was taken from them when they were raped and again when they were forced to carry the fetus resulting from that rape. Sex they didn’t want to have resulted in a baby they didn’t want to have.

They had no say in any of it. How does a survivor grapple with that? I just don’t understand.

I know I couldn’t have. I barely survived the isolating darkness of my own mind.

This cruel reality is one Republicans want us to accept, but we must reject it. For 50 years, rape victims had the right to take back their own power—until June 2022, when it was taken from us.

As a survivor myself, and as a mother to an 11-year old girl, I will not rest until we take that power back.

Make no mistake, Donald Trump and his MAGA Republican enablers are waging a war against women’s rights and well-being.

Their track record isn’t hidden; it’s a chilling blueprint of what’s to come — a relentless onslaught against women’s autonomy, safety, and equality.

From gutting our reproductive freedoms to mocking the pillars of justice for victims of assault, to rewarding the perpetrators of sexual assault with the highest levels of power, Republicans have made it abundantly clear that they want to drag women and our rights back in time.

So, we need to talk about it.

We need to brace for it.

And we need to prepare for it.

Because we need to be ready to fight against it.

And fight we will. We will fight like hell.

Everything may be coming up rapist for Grab Em By the Pussy Trump and his merry band of Happy Handed Gropers, but that doesn’t mean we’re gonna lay down and make nice.

So much of the war they’re waging stems from the fact that they know they can’t keep women down. They know how strong we are. How resilient and relentless.

How powerful.

And it scares the shit out of them, as it should.

And to every victim of rape out there right now, I hope you know that I see you. And I understand. If you’re feeling guilty or ashamed for what was done to you, I want you to know that you did nothing wrong and that you are not alone. We are all in this together.

This is a dark time. I’m not going to sugarcoat it, it’s going to get darker still. But, like I say all the time - it is one we can and will get through. So long as we see each other and we stick together. We are the superheroes we’ve been waiting for.

There are resources out there too. 👇

https://rainn.org/resources

https://www.nsvrc.org/find-help

https://www.crisistextline.org/topics/sexual-abuse/

Also, I got my daughter an emotional support Sloth (yes, that’s a real thing lol) from a website called Uncommon Goods, and I gotta tell you, this thing is amazing. Somehow I think it’s gonna come in quite handy over the next four years. 🦥

https://www.uncommongoods.com/product/weighted-emotional-support-sloth

Here is “Octavious” with his new bunny sister “Lily.” Welcome to the family, Octi!

And finally, a song to inspire in closing… (it’s one of my favorites).

Happy Boxing Day!

Stay safe, stay strong, stay sane.

Love you all,

Jo ❤️