The Hypocrisy of Sex in Politics

Why have men’s’ political careers remained seemingly indestructible in the face of sexual assault allegations while women face the brunt of repercussions?

One-third of President Donald Trump’s original cabinet members have faced claims of sexual assault. The list includes currently employed members, like Pete Hegseth, the United States Secretary of War, who was accused of sexually assaulting a woman in her hotel room in 2017. The twenty-two-page report filed by the Monterey Police Department includes details of him snatching her phone, barricading the door with his body, and refusing to let her leave. The woman who accused Hegseth in the report, Jane Doe, recounted that throughout the night she continued repeating the word “no.”

Also on the list is Matt Gaetz, who self-withdrew from the nomination process for U.S. Attorney General after sex trafficking allegations grew to such heights that they “enmeshed” him. According to a House Ethics Committee report, Gaetz was accused of having sex with a 17-year-old girl, paying women to have sex with him, and granting special privileges to women with whom he was having sexual relations over female colleagues with whom he wasn’t.

While Gaetz withdrew from the nomination, other cabinet members like Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has served as United States Secretary of Health and Human Services since early 2025, did not. In July of 2024, Kennedy was accused of groping a babysitter. “I have no memory of this incident, but I apologize sincerely for anything I ever did that made you feel uncomfortable,” he later wrote in an apology text to the woman.

Trump, who nominated each of these men, has faced multiple sexual misconduct allegations, and a jury found himm liable for sexual abuse in the Carroll case. He also has thirty-four felony convictions in connection with hush-money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels and numerous connections to human trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

But none of these cases exist in a vacuum. The one-third statistic is notable, and it fits a broader pattern of sexual misconduct allegations against lawmakers, many of whom faced no loss of office.

How have these men managed to keep their careers amidst the accusations? Trump, Hegseth, and Kennedy are not the founding fathers of evading consequences. They are simply joining the ranks of durable, prominent men. Figures like Clarence Thomas, Bill Clinton, and Brett Kavanaugh have also outlived their respective scandals.

The news outlet’s role in spreading information about scandals has exacerbated the differing consequences between men and women in politics. In an interview with the “Harvard Independent,” Former Professor of Journalism at the University of North Texas Tracy Everbach, who wrote “Junctures in Women’s Leadership: Media and Journalism,” described the role of the media. “Journalism is one of the worst [actors] in the portraying of women and men,” Everbach said. “Journalists like to report on the most sensationalist cases [rather] than the big picture, the overall problem.”

“Journalists play [into] the tropes and the stereotypes,” she continued, describing the issue with biased language. And, according to Everbach, when the language is not equal, the outcomes rarely are either. In her eyes, men usually get the benefit of the doubt, whereas women are offered little empathy.

In 2018, after listening to the testimony of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, who accused the Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault in high school, Kavanaugh himself took the stand. He was seen choking back tears, becoming visibly furious and later crying while speaking. “NBC News” described it as an “angry, emotional … marathon.” He was confirmed to the Supreme Court just nine days after the testimony. “A lot of women know it’s BS,” Everbach muttered.

In contrast, Ford had to hire private security after the testimonies. She could not return to her teaching job for months because of security threats. In her 2024 book, “One Way Back,” she wrote that following Kavanaugh’s appointment, she discussed the harrowing death threats that affected her life. “They would never give up,” she explained regarding these messages. Meanwhile, Kavanaugh received a lifetime appointment to the nation’s highest court.

The social punishment Ford faced starkly contrasts with that of her male counterparts, but it is not unprecedented. In the realm of accusations against Supreme Court nominees, Ford was not the first. In 1991, Anita Hill accused then-nominee Clarence Thomas of making lewd, consistent, and inappropriate comments continuously during their time working together. The televised congressional hearings lasted for three days. The committee was chaired by future President Joe Biden, who later expressed regret for the treatment Hill received. Days later, Thomas was confirmed. Joe Biden was the only one to apologize to Hill.

Often, scandals define these women’s personal lives and careers for decades. Monica Lewinsky turned into a national euphemism for oral sex, being referenced in numerous pop culture songs. E. Jean Carroll has endured perpetual mocking from Trump, who has called her a “nut job” and said, “I think she’s sick, mentally sick,” for her accusations of sexual abuse against him. In 2019, she lost her 27-year-long column at “Elle Magazine” called “Ask E. Jean” and has endured thousands of death threats since her testimony.

For the male counterparts in each story, the allegations were not similarly derailing. Often, they are simply another scandal that dots their political careers.

In this context, many understand that women are rarely afforded the luxury of being unperturbed. In 2018, the National Sexual Violence Resource Center published that only 25% of sexual assault cases were reported to the police. At the same time, “Sage Journals” found that 60% of incumbent male politicians’ careers “survive” a scandal. So a striking disparity is presented: male politicians at large have managed to retain power despite allegations, whereas the women on the other side of the case have often faced the lasting, destructive repercussions.

Naomi Beinart ’30 (naomibeinart@college.harvard.edu) is interested in gender politics and how it affects our daily lives. She does her best work with 70s music blasting in her ears.