Marching Against Melania?
The day after Donald Trump’s inauguration, millions of women all across the globe marched in protest. Washington D.C., Boston and Concord are a few of the numerous cities in America in which protests took place. The marches even extended to cities outside of America, such as Prague and Ghana. Throughout the march, signs were held with slogans such as: “My body, my choice” and “Women’s rights are human rights.” Many were directly related to Trump’s sexist rhetoric. References to minorities Trump verbally targeted such as Muslims and Mexicans were also made. The entire day was about women supporting women. However, as the crowd surged on the streets, we didn’t realize that we had left someone behind. We didn’t realise that we had subjected an individual to the same hate we protested. Ever since her husband began his campaign, Melania Trump has been receiving hate for months on end about her looks, class and accent. From starring in internet memes to being publicly mocked by celebrities, Melania Trump has endured, and will continue to endure, hate from protesters.
People were so desperate to berate Donald that they used Melania Trump as ammunition.
Melania Trump was born in Slovenia and first visited the United States in 1996 on a visa for her modeling career. She gained citizenship in 2005 after marrying Donald Trump. She speaks five languages. Like many other immigrants, English is not her first language, so it’s natural that she has an accent. Throughout her husband’s campaign, Melania has been constantly ridiculed for essentially learning a new language, one of the most prominent moments being at the 2016 American Music Awards when supermodel Gigi Hadid impersonated Melania Trump, scrunching up her face and speaking with an exaggerated accent. After receiving backlash, Hadid released a message through social media claiming that it was all part of a script and the impersonation had comedic intentions. The drama soon died down and everyone returned to their normal lives and Hadid to her supermodel career. This gig has been described as “savage” and “hilarious” but it shouldn’t be described as anything but racist and discriminatory. Furthermore, the women’s march was about women supporting women, but Hadid’s actions undermine this notion. Donald Trump has been criticized for insulting immigrants and people of other cultures, yet society found it acceptable to insult Melania in the same manner.
“My body, my right.” “Don’t judge me based on what I wear.” These were two of the numerous slogans featured in the march on Saturday. Being judged solely on one’s intellect and actions is a dream many women have had for a long time. People were so desperate to berate Donald that they used Melania Trump as ammunition. They dug up her photoshoots from several years ago and wrote articles and made youtube videos showcasing her “promiscuous ways.” Whether it was “Melania Trump like you’ve never seen her before” or “10 Photos Melania wishes we’d forget,” every single article/video berated her. Yes, Melania Trump did pose nude at some points in her career, but there is no point in constantly bringing up the past. When the media mentioned it the first time, it was to inform us. But when they kept on showcasing it, the media only displayed misogyny and sexism against Melania. She was depicted as an unintelligent, classless gold digger. And even on the rare occasions when she came into the spotlight with propositions, she was brutally chastised. For example, when she said she would work to combat cyberbullying, the internet went wild and tore her apart. All of this resulted in making Melania the central target of hate–from slurs like “trophy wife” and “prostitute” to holding signs saying “Rape Melania” at rallies. Had this appalling sexism been directed at anyone else, the backlash would have been enormous. But for some reason “Don’t judge me based on what I wear,” doesn’t apply to our First Lady.
Just because Melania married Donald Trump doesn’t warrant all of the hostility to which she has been subjected. She lacks political experience and she’s different from our past first ladies, but that doesn’t give anyone the right to slut shame her or portray her as a sex object. Melania Trump may not be the first lady many of us wanted, but it is time that we accept and embrace her with all of the values that millions of women marched for. Because if feminism is battling chauvinism, then we must battle chauvinism for all women.