Both men have made comments keeping sexism alive and well

One of my greatest griefs in life is the survival of sexism.

Despite centuries of rallies, movements, and progress, sexism lives on and negatively impacts men, women, and those that don’t subscribe to either gender. While I count my blessings that society has come a long way since the 1950’s in regards to sexism and gender-based maltreatment, relics of our history come back to haunt us through the form of everyday sexism.

Everyday sexism is a beast with many faces: from school to the office, its presence is ubiquitous and manifests through several forms; some are obvious, such as loud jokes, and others are more insidious and can be found through subtle word choices or body language. One of the most obvious places one can find it is in the media.

Recently, two celebrities have used their fame and public influence to keep casual sexism alive and well.

Here’s looking at you, Presidential contender Donald Trump and rap superstar Kanye West.

Four days before Taylor Swift won the Grammy’s award for Best Album of the Year, on February 11, Kanye West’s album “The Life of Pablo” was released.

Yeezy fans and critics alike quickly took note of offensive lyrics in his new song “Famous,” which targets Swift in a sexual and disrespectful manner that rings of misogyny and jealousy.

Evidently it wasn’t enough that West thwarted Taylor’s acceptance speech of MTV Music Video Awards.

Here’s a little memory refresher: when Taylor Swift entered the stage to accept her award for best music video, Kanye West drunkenly jumped on stage, swiped the mic from her hand, and slurred the famous words that would become an Internet meme: “I’m happy for you Taylor, and imma let you finish, but Beyonce had the best music video of all time. Of all time!”

After Kanye apologized and Swift accepted in the form of a slow, tender ballad called “Innocent,” the fiasco lay to rest as the stars moved on with no hard feelings. Yet it seems as though Kanye is discontent with letting bygones be bygones, and once again malice wins its way through harsh lyrics derailing her as a female dog (“female dog” being a euphemism for his vulgarity) and trying to tear credit from her hands.

Classy as ever, Taylor Swift had only this to say: “As the first woman to win album of the year at the Grammys twice, I want to say to all the young women out there: there are going to be people along the way who will try to undercut your success or take credit for your accomplishments or your fame.

“But if you just focus on the work and you don’t let those people sidetrack you, someday when you get where you’re going, you’ll look around and you’ll know it was you and the people who love you who put you there and that will be the greatest feeling in the world.”

So does Kanye deserve the jerk of the year award, or does the honor go to Trump, who has put forth an honorable effort in the race of most misogynistic man of 2016 with his verbal abuse and ramphant disrespect towards conservative journalist Megyn Kelly?

After asking him hard-hitting questions that dealt with his past references to women as animals, Donald Trump went after Megyn Kelly with a vengeance that TIME refers to as “the relentless misogynistic abuse of a high-profile woman doing her job.”

He has brought her up on multiple occasions, implying that she is a bimbo and that her menstrual cycle influences her faculties. His disrespect for her was so high that he refused to participate in the GOP debate with her as moderator.

Both Trump and West acted shamefully towards their female peers, attacking them with sex-based insults and putting them down for daring to succeed and be bold in their lives.

Because I don’t support unapologetic misogyny, I will not support either celebrity until they apologize to the women they insulted. This is my way of fighting back everyday sexismday by day, refusing to tolerate it, in hopes that there will be a day when sexism is a distant memory.