Claudia Conway is it gets spicy – for yourself.
That is what the 18-year-old daughter of Republican political powerhouse Kellyanne Conway and attorney George Conway said when she announced last month that she had develop into a Playboy bunny.
It was, she wrote on Twitterto “regain” her “femininity and femininity” after being “utilized by the media, preyed on and compelled to portray myself as something I’m not” as a 15- and 16-year-old.
“I perform there in a way that’s MY OWN and nobody else’s. I actually have full control over my body and voice,” she declared.
Then she added this clever wisdom: “Don’t let anyone make the most of your weaknesses – take them back.”
I actually have great sympathy for Conway: she didn’t select famous parents and the scrutiny that followed. But her logic fails.
The media never really used her body, but moderately her position as the daughter of a Trump adviser. She was a pawn – a juvenile partisan, a road killer.
In 2020, she became a darling of some unscrupulous members of the Trump resistance posing as reporters when she began essentially live-streaming domestic conflicts in her politically mixed family. In 2021, she participated in the show “American Idol.
This latest move shows how much social media and society have convinced young women that monetizing their sexuality online is, in a way, a gateway to emancipation and happiness.
Sexy subscription sites like Playboy and OnlyFans, and even platforms like TikTok, promise fame, financial freedom, and girlboss status in case you’re up for it.
All you would like is sweet lighting, a bikini (in case you feel modest) and a filter downloaded from the App Store that may eliminate any shortcomings.
But simply because pretty young creatures control the technique of production doesn’t suggest they control them.
Women are still at the mercy of shoppers. Except now, each their self-esteem and their net price are directly related to how others evaluate their aesthetic attributes. Do other people like their body? Do they need to pay to watch?
It is a very difficult place in case you do not know yourself yet.
Social media is full of celebrities, influencers and would-be influencers showing off their private pieces and attaching messages of self-actualization and autonomy – the unbridled joy of expressing your femininity on your personal terms.
There are also loads of plus-sized women like Lizzo and Tess Holliday who showcase their bodies in defiance and middle finger against traditional beauty standards.
But ultimately all these women confuse nudity with empowerment.
For those who really feel pretty and fulfilled, you haven’t got to always post photos for likes and approvals.
It’s quite the opposite.
This will not be an argument for mandatory turtlenecks or burqas.
Women should freely express their sexuality, emphasize their strengths and unscrupulously bend over their sensuality. And if that is their chosen field, they ought to be rewarded for it.
But undressing will not be a magical shortcut to empowerment – especially when wrapped in feminist platitudes.