Melania and Ivanka Trump: more than two simple "image women"
Underestimating and harassing Melania and Ivanka Trump is misogynistic. Two very strong women are hiding behind the public image.
Alongside the controversy over the conduct of the new US president, the spotlight has also been on first lady Melania Trump and first daughter Ivanka for weeks. The former has been the protagonist of lively online debates on whether or not she is to be saved from the clutches of a totalitarian husband, both in politics and - perhaps - in married life. #FreeMelania and #SaveMelania became trending topics in no time.
Ivanka Trump, on the other hand, is at the center of the crosshairs after posting a photo on Instagram that sees her engaged in a sumptuous party with her husband Jared Kushner, just in the days when her father is intent on signing executive orders against immigrants. The idea that was created around Ivanka is that of a Marie Antoinette who is impassive to the outside world: that photo would represent the famous phrase "if they are hungry, eat brioches" in a post-modern key.
But worrying about Melania, more than a nice thought, is a misogynistic thought. It is easier to imagine that the woman, as in fairy tales, must be saved and she does not know how to deal with it alone. Similarly it is misogynistic to blame Ivanka for being at a party in an expensive dress. Why not also blame her husband, who - among other things - was the inspiration for the entire Trump election campaign?
Perhaps, we are still too used to thinking of first ladies only as "figures" subject to gossip and entertainment topics. They must be the perfect ladies who smile at the camera, who never have quarrels with their respective spouses and who lovingly tend the White House garden. But who are Melania and Ivanka Trump really?
Melanija Knavs, known to most as Melania Trump, is a former Slovenian model. As a child, she led a fairly modest life. She attempted to become a designer, but she quickly realized that it was easier to put on clothes than to make them. It is in fact her modeling career that has brought her luck. She became one of the figures associated with Trump Model Management, a fashion agency in which Isabella Rossellini was also a member, she had the opportunity to meet Donald Trump during New York Fashion Week in 1998.
A perfect Hollywood fairy tale, the one between Melania and Donald Trump. The Beauty - and poor - who managed to see the beauty in the Beast. Whether this beauty is represented by the soul of the man or by the money that allowed her to finally create her jewelry line and that removed her from precariousness, it doesn't matter, because they are happy. Does she remind you of anyone?
It is Melania herself who reassures us about her condition. In fact, she recently reiterated in Vanity Fair Mexico - we emphasize, in Mexico - how happy her marriage is and how much her husband is an understanding and loving companion to her. The tones seem to be very credible, especially thanks to the slice of daily life in which Melania tells herself that she is free to go to the bathroom and take the saunas. In addition, in 2015 the host Barbara Walters was impressed by Melania's intelligence, going so far as to state "Maybe because she is so cute, we don't expect her to be as smart as she is."
Ivanka Trump, 35, is instead a lion of the economy and business. Between one fashion show and another as a model, she had time to graduate with honors in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and also to create her own jewelry line. She is currently a Vice President of the Trump Organization and a judge on The Apprentice program. She is a true multitasking woman.
What should one expect from Ivanka? That she engages in a family feud against her father? When, on the other hand, does she seem to be one of her closest allies?
If we have to attack and criticize Melania and Ivanka Trump, only the actions of Melania and Ivanka Trump will decide: four years are long, and opportunities to show their true colors will be many. How completely useless, if not completely counter-productive on the many fronts on which civil society will have to resist the backward ideals of the administration.
Having little belief in Melania and Ivanka's personalities may stem from the fact that they are related to a man who sees women frivolous and wants them to be submissive. But we don't have to fall into the same game. To hit Donald Trump, you don't have to use his own money trying to weaken the women in his family. The women's march, for example, was a fairer and more politically correct demonstration.
