It’s October 8th, 2016, and Donald J. Trump’s campaign has been torpedoed by evidence that he believes that he can grab women “by the pussy” without their consent. Those salacious videotaped comments from 2005 have almost instantly cost him the support of much of his own party. I believe that The Donald’s remarks were disgusting, wrong, and misogynistic; but, then again, I’ve been never been a Trump fan.

Yet, I can’t help but attempt to contextually understand Trump’s behavior. My current theory is that Donald Trump is just “of a certain generation” (Think: “Madmen”). This doesn’t make me forgive him, but it does draw an interesting parallel to the discussion our class had last week about consent in the 1975 book “Forever,” by Judy Blume.

Let’s do a quick calculation:  Donald Trump is 70 years old — born in 1946. Judy Blume’s “Forever” was published in 1975, but let’s assume the she started working on it a bit earlier, maybe 1970. Michael, the protagonist’s love interest, is about to turn 18. So, let’s say he was born in 1952. This makes both Trump and Michael early members of the baby-boomer generation. The generation of free love, “Playboy” magazine, and the sexual revolution. Many men of that generation were instilled with objectifying norms and paternalistic attitudes regarding their relationships with women, as demonstrated by Michael’s demands for sex. And as Katherine demonstrates, many women accepted aggressive male sexuality at that time. However, it’s not 1970 anymore. So, here’s my question: Does Forever capture the standards of a sexist age that just won’t die?