The trophy wife
It's well known that no warm, well-rounded human being would ever be a successful capitalist politician. You'd have to be a few sandwiches short of a picnic to get into the game in the first place. That's what makes it necessary for the major parties to shell out hundreds of thousands of dollars to employ people whose only role is to make Liberal and Labor candidates appear human.
In fact, the task of softening and humanising the images of Paul Keating and John Hewson evidently proved impossible, and the image makers decided there was only one thing to be done: bring out their wives. So, in yet another example of the indignity heaped upon women in a sexist society, although it was John and Paul who needed the makeover, it was Annita and Carolyn who copped the treatment, from radical hair-straightening to enforced kindy-visiting.
Carolyn Hewson has been heralded as Australia's first "trophy wife", in the mould of the US's Hillary Rodham Clinton. According to the US Fortune magazine, "trophy wives" are a new breed of professional women attracting go-getting men. Bettina Arndt in the Australian explains that "in the 90s trophy wives are more desirable than any curvaceous blonde bimbo — particularly for men seeking replacements for wives who have failed to keep up with their ambitions. Witness Conrad Black and his new trophy — Barbara Amiel."
It can't be easy, being a living trophy. Not only do you have to be a professional (preferably a lawyer or an economist) but it is important that you are also a good mother, a loving and loyal helpmate and as beautiful as a Vogue model. You can't be seen to overshadow your husband in any way, and you may speak your opinions only as "a voice for children" — as Hillary Clinton carefully describes her role in the Clinton administration.
Once upon a time Hillary Rodham wore little round-rimmed spectacles, called herself a feminist and was a partner in the leading law firm in Little Rock, Arkansas. By November of 1992, however, she had ditched the glasses, the politics, the job and even her own name, to play the part of the steak knives in a "buy one, get one free" presidential package deal with Bill Clinton.
Although Hillary toned herself down (some might say discarded her old self completely) in order to help her Bill's election campaign, the "Hillary factor" was still seen as
too radical for the Australian electorate. When Carolyn Hewson said, in a Perth radio interview, that she admired Hillary Clinton as the "epitome of the '90s woman" for juggling her multiple roles, she was quickly hauled back into line by campaign staffers. She was obliged to recant, to make clear that she did not see Hillary as her role model and that she had no desire to play any policy role in her husband's future government.
Annita Keating's interpretation of "the trophy wife" was probably more in line with the ideas of Australia's ultraconservative political image makers. Ironically, her coup of the campaign, a fashion spread in Vogue, was engineered by Anne Summers, the prime minister's adviser on women's issues. Did she also arrange Annita's demonstration of quilting techniques in the February edition of Australian Country Craft?
By Karen Fredericks