After actress Emily Ratajkowski publicly slammed a New York Times reporter who told her the first lady of the United States was a “hooker,” nobody quite knew how to react.
On one hand, Ratajkowski is an outspoken feminist and her opposition to “slut-shaming” should resonate with her peers. On the other, Melania Trump is married to perhaps the single greatest human target of feminist outrage in recent history. She is widely perceived in feminist circles as an enabler of her husband’s sexism.
Should feminists side with Ratajkowski and defend the first lady despite her support for her husband? Some did, some did not.
Similarly, should conservatives applaud Melania Trump’s statement thanking Ratajkowski for her support despite typically hesitating to embrace feminist concepts like “slut-shaming”?
These are the tangled webs we’ve woven.
On Tuesday afternoon, Times feature writer Jacob Bernstein outed himself as the guilty party, apologized, and characterized his insult as “a stupid remark.”
Without knowing the context of Bernstein’s statement, however, it is difficult to evaluate whether he was alleging Mrs. Trump was actually a sex worker, using “hooker” as a slur to comment on her modeling career, or simply joking, in which case I would ask conservatives to consider their stance on political correctness before calling for his head.
Still, an important force behind conservatives’ outrage in times like these is the almost-certain knowledge that had a male journalist used the same language in reference to Michelle Obama, he would have been universally condemned and likely fired.
As someone who rejects the term “slut-shaming,” I still think it’s acceptable and important to applaud Ratajkowski — there is almost nothing rarer than celebrities ensconced in Hollywood using their voices to subvert political norms by defending Republicans.
We celebrate students on college campuses who do the same thing every single day.
Ratajkowski has a much more powerful platform than most feminist thinkers and activists. Perhaps her willingness to provide unsolicited and unconditional support for the wife of a president she so vehemently opposes will embolden feminists to do the same in the future.
Selective outrage is a serious problem in the women’s movement, most recently evidenced by the “inclusive” Women’s March’s decision to exclude pro-life feminists.
Advocating for women’s equality means advocating for women’s equality.
Ratajkowski’s support for Mrs. Trump blazes a trail for feminists to more consistently apply their own philosophy. Who will follow her lead?
Emily Jashinsky is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
