The confetti and balloons from the Republican convention are in the dumpster.
But as a biographical fiction writer of ancient and powerful political wives, Melania Trump’s appearance at her key speech still lingers in my mind. Not in a good way.
I haven’t followed her. A few months ago, I read a magazine in an office waiting room, which had an article about “The Donald Nobody Knew.” It so empty of real content that I felt I had eaten a big bag of Doritos. Without the satisfaction of how it tasted going down.
So I didn’t watch Melania Trump’s speech. But I was on the New York Times website when she was giving it, and saw the series of photographs that flashed by. One of them was only on her shoes.
I knew that wasn’t good.
Appearances at a big speech, at least for women who have lots of clothing choices, are symbolic. Melania Trump choices were deliberate. “She was a model, and understands the power of the visual cue,” reported The New York Times.
Her dress was purchased from a Serbian-born designer for $2,190. The puffs at the end of the ¾ length sleeves accented femininity. It was tight, to emphasis a 46-year old slim figure and to display a toned “butt bump” in the back. She exercises.
The dress was white. That’s the symbol of purity, of virginity. A desirable sexual element for some men. In case you missed the cue, she wore the same color again when Donald Trump gave his acceptance speech.
It was the shoes that got me. Stilettos. Higher-than-high heels, not necessary for a tall woman who was a model. “Men are perfectly frank in admitting that high heels stimulate their sexual appetite,” according The Guardian.
What was symbolized in the appearance of Melania Trump on a national stage last week?
That a woman’s sexual desirably is primo. And that we have taken a couple of steps backwards.
Photo: © Glenn Francis, www.PacificProDigital.com