It’s holiday season, and we’re now nearly a full year into the Trump presidency. And while many have felt the weight of this bear down on them like a sumo wrestler using them as a chair, I’m here to shed a more positive light, a silver lining if you will, on the crapshoot that is the presidency of Donald J. Trump.

It’s called unity. What causes unity? Most often, unity comes from having a common enemy. Think about it. If you’ve ever worked for an awful boss, you were probably closer to your coworkers because you were unified against said boss. When a hurricane hits (as we saw many do this year), we unite against the enemy of the storm itself, working together to deal with the aftermath. Hell, siblings are often close because the parent is the enemy (not quite so literally, but it still works) when enforcing rules they don’t want to follow. We as women have needed that enemy to unite against, but the enemy has been elusive.

For ages, society has systematically tried to pit women against each other. We’ve been conditioned to believe there are limits to what we can do and be. That leaves us with less of the pie to have, which results in fierce competition. And then there’s that whole objectification thing–a focus on how we look as being the most important attribute of ourselves, that further pushes us into a state of never feeling good enough–of needing to compete harder. Most of us don’t even know we’re doing it when we’re doing it. That’s how engrained into us it’s been. (And if you think you’re impervious to this stuff, ask yourself this: The last time you saw a girlfriend, what was the first thing you said to her? Was it something along the lines of “You look great!” / “Wow, you’ve lost weight.” / “Your hair looks so pretty like that.” Or ask yourself if you’ve ever felt jealous of a friend who’s gotten engaged before you, who’s gotten that promotion or who’s been generally successful?) We’ve been set up to feel as though our enemy is our fellow sister as opposed to the systematic patriarchal social setup that’s been disenfranchising us. We don’t see it because there’s no face to put to it. And it’s hard to have a common enemy in patriarchy when you can’t see it; when it isn’t tangible.

But things they are a-changin’.

In this year of 2017, we have an admitted sexual harasser as the U.S. President, holding what is considered to be the most honored position in the world. We see the irony in that, especially after now having had to digest a year of him spouting bigotry, tweets aimed at insulting women by targeting their appearance, and comments on the First Lady of France’s “good shape.” Oh, and there’s that whole endorsing a man who has assaulted children (here’s looking at you, Roy Moore). We now finally have a personified form of our common enemy–patriarchy–to fixate on and unite against. And for the record, I chose the word ‘patriarchy’, not ‘men’ because we don’t hate men! We hate the system that’s allowed men to prosper while women suffer and for men to unfairly exercise power over women.

It started with the Women’s March. On January 21st, 2017, the day after Donald Trump’s inauguration, women (and men in support of women) banded together and marched to advocate for legislation and policies regarding human and women’s rights as well as immigration reform, healthcare reform, reproductive rights, and more. It was also a direct protest to the shit-stirring, socially dangerous storm that was Donald Trump’s 2016 patriarchy-first presidential campaign. It was the largest one-day protest in the history of the U.S. I marched in NYC, surrounded by inspiring women who were fired up and angry. And, for the first time in a long time, we had something to direct that anger at. I’ll admit, I was happy to see such a large turnout, but I was concerned that the initial anger of Trump being sworn into office would soon fade away.

I was wrong. This was the point when we united as troops and began to find comfort and bravery in supporting each other, knowing we must not allow the enemy to thwart the rights our fellow female predecessors fought so hard for.

And then ten months later, Rose McGowan and seven other women came forward with sickening allegations against Harvey Weinstein. And with that, a movement that had been quietly simmering, pushed to the shadows by the mainstream, came bubbling over. Then Alissa Milano brought forward #MeToo on Twitter. This movement, started by program director for Brooklyn-based Girls for Gender Equity Tarana Burke, was meant to show women and girls that they’re not alone in experiencing sexual assault and harassment.

And then the flood gates opened. Women who had kept silent for years were speaking up against men in powerful positions who had behaved badly. Something that in the past would have been dammed, suppressing the emotions and careers of women, burst forward, rushing out with swift justice. The message was and is clear. Women will not stand for sexual harassment or assault, and we won’t quietly take it for fear of retribution or job loss, no matter how powerful or loved the man who did it to us is. Hear that Louie C.K., John Conyers, Mark Halperin, Mario Batali, Matt Lauer, Jeremy Piven…etc, etc, etc…..DONALD TRUMP?

Today three women–Rachel Crooks, Samantha Holvey, and Jessica Leeds– went on Megyn Kelly’s NBC morning show to reiterate their allegations of sexual misconduct against President Donald Trump. The reckoning can no longer be avoided because we’re united with a goal to end patriarchy–personified by Trump himself.

Yesterday I walked through a holiday pop up shop of local artists and retailers. I can’t tell you how many female empowerment shirts, cards, stickers, bags, and rugs (rugs with boobs on them, YAS!) I saw…it’s not an undercurrent anymore, and it’s not going away. It’s here, and it’s a clarion call to unite and support. I can’t say for sure where the massive #MeToo-fueled women’s movement will go from here, and I can’t say for sure that there won’t be bumps in the road, but I can surely say that it wouldn’t exist with such mainstream vigor if Trump hadn’t been elected into office. So for that, I’m glad Trump was elected president.

Related: Should Pretty Girls Talk Politics?

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