Political Soccer Moms

Soccer moms are a sought–after cohort in political elections. Yet little is being done to get them invested in the political party process outside of election season. Whether it be because of long standing institutions or once-upon-a-time biological necessity that shaped these institutions, the female experience is often much different than that of the men.

Political conventions are no exception.

A snapshot from the baby suite. A lot of the excitement is not shown!
A snapshot from the baby suite. A lot of the excitement is not shown!

I have been involved in politics my entire adult life. I have attended many political conventions prior to marrying a politician and becoming a mother. However, two weekends ago was the first political convention that I attended as the mom of an active toddler.

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Jeanette Rubio: A Not-So-Political Wife

Jeanette Rubio: A Not-So-Political Wife

Jeanette Dousdebes Rubio is a bit of a mystery among American Presidential nominee candidates’ political wives.  She doesn’t give speeches and tends to remove herself from politics.  What little we know of her can be gleaned by her actions more than what she’s said to interviewers.

J Rubio2

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Melania Trump, Much More Than Just A Pretty Face

Melania Trump, Much More Than Just A Pretty Face

Love him or hate him, it is pretty much assured that it would take a certain kind of woman to be the wife of Donald Trump.  The couple’s ten year marriage has seen the birth of one son, the entry into fashion design, and –most recently—a great deal of stigma and ridicule attached to this former model from Slovenia. 

Melania Trump Celebrates Her Husband’s Victory By Speaking Out Loud

Gawker’s latest side-swipe is only the latest in a long line of undercover hit pieces aimed at Melania to present her as the stereotypical “dumb model”.  I wonder if she had been the wife of a less controversial candidate if these outlets would have resorted to such stereotypes.  But it begs the question: is it true, is she nothing more than a pretty face?  Let’s discover exactly who Melania Trump is and what type of First Lady she might make.

NEW YORK-MAY 20: Donald Trump and wife Melania
NEW YORK-MAY 20: Donald Trump and wife Melania

Her Beginnings

Melania Trump was born “Melanija Knavs” on April 26, 1970 in Slovenia’s lower valley to parents, Viktor and Amalija.  Her father managed a string of motorcycle and car dealerships, and her mother worked in fashion providing her and her sister Ines with what would be considered a “middle class” lifestyle under the communist system.  She attended the University of Ljublijana pursuing degrees in design and architecture, while modeling part time in Italy.  As her modeling career took off, Melania left her studies behind to pursue it more aggressively. 

Modeling and America

Melania worked for several years on the runways of Milan and Paris before making a leap to New York.  It was there under the tutelage of Helmut Newton that her career in print ads expanded, and she eventually began to find work with Conde Nast periodicals and other well-known photographers like Patrick Demarchelier, and Mario Testino.  In addition to being one of the featured models of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition, Melania made the covers of Vogue, In Style, Vanity Fair, Allure, Harper’s Bazaare, Elle and other high end magazines.

Despite the naysayers who have made her nothing more than a trophy wife in the eyes of the public, this former girl from a Soviet block nation had managed to parlay her own assets into an established modeling career before even meeting Donald Trump. To go from Slovenia to New York, requires more than a pretty face.  It takes work ethic, determination, and good networking.  Most models never make it past catalog ads.  Melania made it to New York and the cover of Vogue.

However, it was her modeling work and her transition to working at Trump Model Management which put Melania on the path of her future husband, and it can be said that meeting him certainly changed the trajectory of where she was heading.

Melania Trump at the QVC Red Carpet Style Party, Four Seasons Hotel, Los Angeles, CA. 02-25-11
Melania Trump at the QVC Red Carpet Style Party, Four Seasons Hotel, Los Angeles, CA. 02-25-11

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How NOT To Be A Sexist Jerk: 3 Things Political Wives Wish You Knew

Breaking News- Political Wives are not extensions of their husbands!

In our political culture, there is a longstanding tradition of treating political wives as an extension of their politician husbands. This tradition does not exist when a man is married to a female politician. Case in point, the Clintons. How many times has Hillary been targeted, named and shamed for the actions of her husband? Too many times to count. Whereas Bill is never targeted for things his wife does as a politician.

US President Bill Clinton (R) gives a thumbs up sign with First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton (L) as they took to the stage prior to addressing the people of Buffalo, New York at the Marine Midland Arena 20 January. This is the first official trip of Clinton to Buffalo and comes after his State of the Union speech to Congress. (ELECTRONIC IMAGE) AFP PHOTO/Stephen JAFFE ORG XMIT: BUF99
US President Bill Clinton (R) gives a thumbs up sign with First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton (L)

I studied women’s studies and could give you a long feminist analysis of why this tradition exists, but the simple short answer is sexism.

All too often, political wives are treated as nothing more than extensions of their husbands.

As a political wife, I have experienced this on a number of occasions. Here is a particularly cringe-worthy experience from today. I reached out to offer my services for a cause I support and was told that I wasn’t welcome to assist this group because the person heading it doesn’t like my husband.

Their reasoning was that if I helped collect donations for people in need, I would try to give all of the credit to my husband, which would inevitably result in him getting positive press and making him look good.

Apparently this chain of events would devalue the contribution that the group was trying to make to society. 

At first I thought this seemingly progressive person from the group must have misunderstood me. This individual who prides themselves on equality and social justice wouldn’t simply view me as a mere extension of my husband—would they?! Continue reading “How NOT To Be A Sexist Jerk: 3 Things Political Wives Wish You Knew” →

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6 Tips For Surviving Solo Parenting

There are so many themes in Political Wife Life that non political spouses can identify with!

The 1950’s style family where one parent goes to the office and comes home at 5 p.m. while one parent stays home and runs the house is no longer the norm.

Solo parenting (where the parents are still in a relationship, but one person tends to do a majority of the parenting because the other parent works extremely long hours or is away for an extended period of time) is becoming more common. This has always been a reality for military families and political families.

Rocking Solo Parenting with the help of BABY WEARING
Rocking Solo Parenting with the help of BABY WEARING

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