New York Post published pictures of Melania Trump from her modeling days. It included solo nude photos of her or with another woman. The front page of the Metro edition of The New York Post reads, “You have never seen a potential First Lady like this!”
When I saw it, not for one moment did I think about Melania Trump. My thoughts straight up went to the level of Journalism we have come down to. This post was wrong on so many levels.
Firstly, Melania Trump was a model and such photo shoots are a part of her job.
Secondly, a woman, no matter whosoever or how successful she is, people try to pull her down through slut-shaming. Their value is largely and mostly weighed in terms of their physical beauty.
Worse still, this is being used as a reason to influence the voter, or at least they made a sheepish attempt. They published an ad featuring Melania lying nude on a bed and the headline is as follows, “Meet Melania Trump, your next first lady. Or, you could support Ted Cruz…”
Now let me clarify, that I am not a supporter of Trump and his politics (if it exists). But bringing down Melania is sheer misogyny and not a retaliation to any of Trump’s stupidity.
This has more to do with the stigma attached to a woman’s freedom and sexuality. I know all the conservatives are waiting out there to pounce over me when I say that it is her body, let her decide. Let me tell you that this is your distorted sense of human anatomy and sexuality particularly.
You do not have to be uncomfortable with your body.
Melania wasn’t, so she gave a shot!
And you kept murmuring like one amongst the crowd.
And hello? Has Trump already given less number of stupid statements that you have no other way to retaliate than resorting to cheap tactics. He is blatantly racist and narcissist to the core, shows no respect for the army men who sacrificed their lives for the country and when asked if he has made any sacrifice – he confuses it with his success and money.
Now again there is a stream of people waiting to say that if Melania freely did those photo shoots, they were meant to be public. What is wrong if the newspaper flashed them?
My dear friend, the problem lies with the intent and tone with which the newspaper posted those pictures with the headline “The Ogle Office” and turned a free expression of sexuality into objectification.
Although Donald Trump is no less. He matches those levels of misogyny clearly. Because in response to the Ted Cruz attack, he posted a picture of Heidi Cruz, Ted Cruz’s wife and compared her beauty with that of his wife and tried to point out that HIS wife was more beautiful. *facepalm multiplied by 100*
Trump’s advisor claimed that “There is nothing to be embarrassed about. She is a beautiful woman”. *facepalm multiplied by 1000*
I wish these people understood that this is not about the so-called beauty of their wives. Objectification level over 10000!
NY Post has mostly been in favour of Trump, but who would want to miss an opportunity for selling your newspaper through nudity. What relevance do those photographs of Melania Trump have? What was New York Post trying to convey when they said “This could be your First Lady!” Don’t miss the exclamation mark. It was very clear that it was a sensationalist move which was meant to titillate and not educate.
This is another incident that shows that journalistic ethics have gone for a toss altogether and profit margins is all what matters. Being a journalism student myself, the thought of such stories being run in the newspapers makes me cringe.
Unfortunately, with Yellow Journalism at its peak, sensationalism sells.
Shame on you NY Post! Get better news, or rather, go back to high school and learn the definition of news.
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