Unless you’ve been living under a blissfully heavy rock for the last week, you should know that Donald Trump is now the president elect of the United States. This means different things to different people; some are happy while others are terrified, fearing for their lives and wellbeing.
Personally, I turn to social media both to learn more about the mechanics of the political environment (later supplemented by Google searches for more reputable sources) and to help me feel better about the results of this campaign. Memes are there for me in a way that no other person can be. But while scouring Twitter the other day, I discovered something quite disturbing on my timeline. It was a meme comparing a regal photo of First Lady Michelle Obama to a nude photo of soon-to-be First Lady Melania Trump.
The reason the tweet troubled me is that it implied the sole reason Melania couldn’t be a good First Lady was that she had done a nude photo shoot, and I find that sentiment to be ridiculous. A woman’s intelligence and drive don’t change with the number of clothes on her body. This stands with our current and forthcoming First Ladies. Although Melania may not have multiple college degrees from prestigious universities like Michelle, she shouldn’t be completely invalidated only because she decided to convey her own sexuality as an adult woman. After all, she was a model, a career that, much like art, often uses the body as a means of expression.
People have been pitting women against one another for a long time, and I think our next president being a misogynist—among other things—should be a wake-up call. Women have a right to agency over their own bodies no matter who they are.