Opinion: In presidential affairs, the mistresses are left with all the shame and responsibility
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The media has played a large role in villainizing popular figures throughout history. Sometimes it’s valid, while other times it gets blown out of proportion. What doesn’t sit right with me is the defamation of presidential mistresses.
Slut-shaming is the usual response to these women. The public perceives that, in some twisted way, the entire affair is their fault.
Monica Lewinsky is a prime example. An ambitious 21-year-old woman came to the White House in 1995 as an unpaid intern. Five months later, Lewinsky and former President Bill Clinton began a sexual relationship, according to audiotapes. It lasted for 18 months.
Mainstream media cemented how Americans should view Lewinsky. They referred to her as a “ditzy, predatory White House intern,” a “thong-snapper,” and “a stalker and seductress.” Lewinsky became the one laughed at and what every young girl should avoid.
Let’s look at the bigger picture. A young woman, fresh out of college, is pursued by a 49-year-old man who is the PRESIDENT of the United States. The most powerful man in the country who can make or break her career. The affair involved two people, yet all the shame was left for Lewinsky.
“She was really villainized in the media,” Kenya Becker-Perez, a first-year UO student, said. “I think it was an abuse of power and to demonize her the way they did is not OK.”
Lewinsky was nearly “humiliated to death” and said herself, “I was patient zero of losing a personal reputation on a global scale.”
I look back at my own experiences working in the newsroom. There were times when men of a higher position acted inappropriately. Me being a woman and an intern, I dismissed the behavior. You have to pick your battles: speak up or keep the job.
Lewisnky was a career woman who knew what she wanted and went for it. I believe she’s iconic for that. She was the beginning of a new era in feminism, and her story deserves to be rewritten.
Aside from Lewinsky, the public shaming of presidential mistresses persists. Marilyn Monroe and her secret relationship with former President John F. Kennedy is an ongoing conspiracy. Speculation about the Kennedys’ involvement in her death still circulates.
Her memorable “Happy Birthday” at JFK’s birthday party assisted the rumors. And, I must say, it was one of the most iconic moments of that period. In her cream rhinestone-adorned dress — scandalous for the time — Monroe sang the sexiest rendition of “Happy Birthday.”
Similar to Lewinsky, Monroe was slut-shamed in the media. Being sexually active as a woman in the 1950s and 60s was deemed inappropriate. So, having an alleged relationship with America’s beloved JFK reinforced the stigma.
“When a powerful, successful woman is dating the president of the U.S., they want to protect the country rather than her,” first-year Tayllor Barnes said.
At this point, presidential involvement with mistresses is quite common. Former President Warren Harding was the most comedic as a lifelong womanizer. First Lady Florence Harding estimated the number of her husband’s mistresses at seven.
“It’s a good thing I’m not a woman,” Harding told the press. “I would always be pregnant. I can’t say no.”
Harding refused to ever divorce his wife due to her chronic kidney issues. Yet he pursued other women and considered them to be his true loves.
“There isn’t one iota of affection in my home relationship,” he wrote in 1913. “It is merely existence, necessary for appearance’s sake.”
Despite the public’s animosity, presidential mistresses are more iconic than we give them credit for. The feminist movement hasn’t historically supported them, only contributing to societal shame.
It’s time we hold our presidents more accountable for their romantic side quests. After all, it takes two to tango.