Debate Viewers Talked About Women ... For Once

The third and final debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton certainly generated conversation on social media, but the topics of those discussions might surprise you. Women-focused discussions dominated Twitter during the debate as users commented on the candidates varying views on the treatment of women and reproductive rights were listed as the third-most tweeted-about debate issue according to Twitter's post-debate analytics. Debate viewers were finally willing to talk about the way women are treated in our culture, a much-needed change in an election season that's been simultaneously rife with sexism and strangely silent about it.

Given the context of this debate, with one of the candidates the subject of multiple sexual assault allegations and the other a constant source of sexist derision for her opponent, it's high time that viewers at home began talking about what's so apparent to so many of us: that America is far from a post-sexist society, and that dangerous and allegedly predatory men are somehow still viewed as worthy of the highest office in the land in the eyes of some of our citizens.

According to results sent by a Twitter representative to Bustle, Clinton gained roughly 13,000 followers while Trump gained 6,000, less than half that of his opponent. According to those same results, discussion about Trump took up 59 percent of the #Debate conversation, while discussions about Clinton made up only 41 percent. It's clear from these results that at the very least, Trump was (as usual) the most provocative of the two candidates, but his shock jock tactics might not be winning voters over anymore.

Although it's excellent that Twitter is talking about the treatment of women in general, not all of the conversations are pro-women. Many Trump supporters who call the social network home tweeted in defense of their candidate and even more often against Clinton's supposed record with women as it relates to her husband's alleged sexual assaults. Overall, however, it seems that Twitter users believe that Clinton won this debate (and all of her other debates against Trump). Given the prevalence of the topic of women among Twitter users, it does appear that Trump's alleged crimes against women are finally getting the spotlight they deserve among the American electorate.