Claudia Conway is getting racy — for herself.
That’s 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 change into a Playboy bunny.
It was, she wrote on Twitter, to “reclaim” her “womanhood and femininity” after she was “exploited by the media, preyed upon, and was forced into portraying myself as something i wasn’t” as a 15- and 16-year-old.
“I’m putting myself on the market in a way that’s MY OWN and nobody else’s. I even have full control of my body and my voice,” she declared.
She then added this sage little bit of wisdom: “Don’t let someone capitalize off of your vulnerabilities — reclaim them.”
I even have great sympathy for Conway: She didn’t select high-profile parents and the scrutiny that followed. But, her logic doesn’t track.
The media was never really exploiting her body, but slightly her position because the daughter of a Trump adviser. She was a pawn — underage partisan roadkill.
In 2020, she became the darling of some unscrupulous Trump resistance members masquerading as reporters when she began essentially livestreaming the domestic strife in her politically mixed family. In 2021, she was a contestant on “American Idol.
This latest move shows just how much social media and society has convinced young women that monetizing their sexuality for the net is by some means a gateway to emancipation and happiness.
Sexy subscription sites comparable to Playboy and OnlyFans and even platforms comparable to TikTok promise fame, financial freedom and girlboss status — in the event you’re willing to get naked.
All one needs is sweet lighting, a bikini (if one’s feeling modest) and a filter downloaded from the App Store to iron out any flaws.
But simply because pretty young things control the technique of production doesn’t mean they’re on top of things.
Women are still on the mercy of the client base. Except now each their self-worth and their net price are directly tied to how others rate their aesthetic attributes. Do other people like their body? Do they need to pay to look?
It’s a really tough place in the event you don’t yet truly know yourself.
Social media is crammed with celebrities, influencers and wannabe influencers showing off their private bits and attaching a message of self-fulfillment and autonomy — the unbridled joy of expressing your femininity on your personal terms.
There are also many plus-sized women like Lizzo and Tess Holliday who showcase their bodies as an act of defiance and a middle finger to traditional beauty standards.
But ultimately all of those women are conflating nakedness with empowerment.
If you happen to really feel pretty and fulfilled, you don’t have to incessantly post pictures for likes and validation.
It’s quite the alternative.
That’s to not argue for mandatory turtlenecks or burqas.
Women should be happy to specific their sexuality, accentuate their assets and unapologetically lean into their sensuality. And if that’s their chosen field, they must be compensated for it.
But stripping down will not be a magical shortcut to empowerment — especially when it’s wrapped in feminist platitudes.