Melania Ayn

A young woman flees a communist country, works her way to the top of her field, meets the man of her dreams, and becomes a symbol of American capitalism.

I could be referring to Ayn Rand, but I was really talking about Melania Trump.

At first blush, you would never put these two in the same sentence, but as a Trump supporter and devotee of Rand, I think that Rand would not only relate to Melania, but truly admire her.

Like Dagny Taggart, and many of the other Randian heroines, Melania has thrived because of her femininity, and not in spite of it.

It’s not a surprise, then, that Rand was a big fan of Marilyn Monroe.

But Melania is a sort of Sophia Loren for the new century: glamorous, highly sensual, and most importantly, proud to be a woman.

Not in the phony, crass version of modern womanhood peddled by Jezebel writers and women’s march participants, but because she truly exemplifies what Rand called the “essence” of femininity.

Rand defined femininity as an almost mystical force that only amplifies when a woman meets a man she can “hero worship,” as Rand put it.  Melania’s steadfast support for her husband, and her early attraction to what she called “his mind,” is evidence, to me of their classic Randian relationship. Like Rearden and Taggart, they celebrate the masculine and feminine opposition in each other.

I also think Rand would get a kick out of Melania’s apparent abundant supply of hutzpah.

She seemed to shrug off the harpies who criticized her for not moving to Washington right away to allow her son to complete the school year in New York.

I’ll leave when I’m good and ready, I imagined Melania telling herself.

Under siege by resentful Twitter trolls for wearing stilettos to board Marine One, Melania didn’t capitulate.

She showed up days later in similar heels, but did throw the peanut gallery a sartorial crumb by wearing a safari dress she’d already worn on a previous trip.

When they go low, the heels go high.

I think Ayn would find this delicious.

Her recent “snub” from Vanity Fair’s best dressed list shouldn’t surprise anyone.

Her wardrobe, like her regal bearing, is the antithesis of everything the social justice warriors ( aka the media) promote.

Her clothes are aspirational and almost retro in their celebration of the female form. No androgyny here, folks!

Her affinity for luxe brands like Ralph Lauren and Dior send a clear message: I’ve got money, and I’m not apologizing for it.

I always wonder if the fashion designers who align themselves with the “resistance” understand that without capitalism they would have no fashion house, and no house in Italy to jet off to every summer.

Fashion itself is predicated on social inequalities. The reason a woman in Manhattan wants a new Chanel bag is because the bag crowns her economic status. She desires the bag because it is something a middle class or lower class peer cannot have.

Moreover, the tax cuts proposed by President Trump will help the fashion business significantly and provide more tax relief to consumers to spend on discretionary items, like that Zac Posen dress.

If the fashion industry were smart enough to figure this out, they would make Melania their patron saint. True to form, she doesn’t seem too devastated by their antipathy. Not making  Graydon Carter’s buddy list?  Who cares? We all know who’s got this in the bag.

Melania is a glowing exponent of the American woman, just as I see Ayn Rand.

It’s no coincidence that women in thriving economies are happy and beautiful. The women in communist and socialist regimes are dour and look like, well, Lindy West and Amy Schumer.

It doesn’t matter what pet causes she takes on, or what, if anything, Melania does with herself at the White House. As far as I’m concerned, she’s more than a first lady: she is a lady, which is more than I can say for some of her predecessors.

Keep on wearing those Louboutins, Melania! And dig them in even deeper!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Stephanie Green

Stephanie Green is a freelance writer and journalist. A former reporter for The Washington Times and Bloomberg News, she's also written for Vogue, Vanity Fair, WWD, and a wide variety of print and online publications. She's on Twitter @stephlgreen

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