to the editor: re <u+201c> tape reveals trump boast about groping women <u+201d> (front page, oct. 8): <u+201c>when you<u+2019>re a star, they let you do it,<u+201d> he had the gall to say. no, donald trump, they didn<u+2019>t <u+201c>let<u+201d> you do it. some of the women you sexually assaulted and harassed filed lawsuits against you. others took their stories public. and still others may have remained silent, in the belief that accusing a rich and powerful man would subject them to character assassination and disbelief. but the culture of entitlement and denial, sometimes called rape culture, that too often keeps sex-crime victims silent does not mean that the victims <u+201c>let<u+201d> you do anything, even if they felt too powerless to seek recourse. perhaps rape culture will be disrupted, if only to a degree, when american women by huge margins reject your repugnant candidacy and refuse to <u+201c>let<u+201d> you occupy the highest office in our land. jane manning new york the writer is director of advocacy for the national organization for women <u+2014> new york city. to the editor: over the past 55 years i have been in many locker rooms: football, track, high school, college, racquetball, country club, golf. i have never heard in them the language used by donald trump. he demeans men when he claims that his language is common to us. it is not. his claim, if believed, would lower women<u+2019>s view of men: we are not the pigs donald would have them believe we are. daniel pellegrin white plains to the editor: re <u+201c> many women furious, but some are tolerant <u+201d> (news article, oct. 9): when donald trump refers to his gloating about sexually assaulting women as <u+201c>locker-room talk,<u+201d> it is not any kind of defense; rather, it is an indictment of male socialization in locker rooms and other venues across the country. the casual, behind-closed-doors sexism that mr. trump excuses directly feeds male entitlement and rape culture. we must make sexism no longer acceptable in locker rooms or any other space, whether or not women, transgender or gender-nonconforming people are present. it is incumbent on men to take on the responsibility of demanding that other men and boys respect all genders at all times, and to make sure that we have one another<u+2019>s back when we do. lee goodman-gargagliano oakland, calif. to the editor: having worked for many years with powerful men in business and politics, i have learned that strong and confident men are most likely to be respectful of their colleagues and reliable supporters of women who are executives. braggarts are often covering up for their own inadequacies. donald trump must be the most insecure billionaire on the planet. several of his businesses failed. his first two marriages failed. the president of the united states humiliated him at the white house correspondents dinner and people laughed. it is not surprising that he can manipulate people who feel vulnerable. he has a lot of experience on the losing end. karen myers fort worth to the editor: re <u+201c> lewd trump tape is breaking point for many in g.o.p. <u+201d> (front page, oct. 9): the hypocrisy of republican officeholders abandoning donald trump after the revelation of his vulgarity is quite evident. after all the awful things mr. trump has said since he began his presidential bid last year, it took his vile language from 11 years ago to wake them up. how could they have supported such a man before this revelation? how could they accept his demeaning of women, veterans, those of color? albert kutzin melville, n.y. a version of this letter appears in print on october 11, 2016, on page a22 of the new york edition with the headline: <u+2018>locker-room talk<u+2019> and sexual assault. today's paper | subscribe
donald trump, <u+2018>locker-room talk<u+2019> and sexual assault
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