Posted on 07/14/2007 12:43:37 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
"Stripper." "Bimbo." "Permanently tan."
These are just a few of the adjectives used in the media lately to describe Jeri Kehn Thompson.
She's the wife of likely Republican presidential candidate and former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, and one of the latest women to have characteristics associated with "trophy wives."
Thompson joins the ranks of other notable women who have been referred to as trophy wives, like Donald Trump's ex-wife Marla Maples and the late Anna Nicole Smith.
But is she really a trophy wife? Though she's blond, beautiful and nearly 25 years younger than her husband, Kehn Thompson, a political media consultant who previously worked for the Senate Republican Conference and a prestigious Washington law firm, doesn't appear to fit the typical description.
Can a woman be so accomplished on her own and still be considered her husband's "trophy"?
ABCNEWS.com set out to figure out exactly what makes an ordinary wife into a trophy wife.
The Anatomy of a Trophy Wife
Some say it's youth and good looks, others argue smarts and success, and still others believe the formula for the ultimate trophy wife is a cocktail of beauty and intelligence.
Many believe the term is highly sexist and demeaning toward women, but others are certain some women would do just about anything to be crowned a trophy wife.
A 1989 article in Fortune magazine may have introduced the phrase, describing a trophy wife as a woman who is a "decade or two younger than her husband, sometimes several inches taller, beautiful, and very often accomplished."
A man who marries for the second and third time, the article explained, was likely looking for a partner who was a lot like his first wife -- just younger, more beautiful and successful enough to have her own career (but not so much so that she steals the spotlight).
But the meaning of the phrase has changed, some experts say, with more and more emphasis being placed on the success of the woman.
"The idea of the trophy wife has progressed so that men want a woman who has some social equality, and it's not a dominant-submissive relationship," said Anne Kingston, author of "The Meaning of Wife." "Increasingly, it's not simply the decoration that a truly accomplished man wants, but an equal."
But stereotypes still abound, and the superficial connotation associated with trophy wives is hard to avoid.
"When we talk about a trophy, it doesn't matter how successful a woman is. It comes down to the decorative aspect and the idea that she's a babe," said Kingston.
Smarts and Sex Appeal Are the Key Ingredients, Some Experts Say "The general conception of a trophy wife is that she knows how to wear expensive clothes, is good looking and can make chitchat at cocktail parties," said Raoul Felder, a celebrity divorce lawyer who has worked with so-called trophy wives. "A trophy by definition just hangs out there."
Is The Trophy Wife Label Sexist?
To some, the fact that there is no prevalent trophy husband stereotype for men makes the trophy wife label seem that much more unfair to women. And some consider it offensive that the term implies that the wife is an object who is bought, or won by a husband.
"The individual sees the wife as a highly desirable object to obtain, roughly equivalent to one's vacation house, one's expensive car and one's status possessions," said Michael Cunningham, a psychologist who specializes in physical attractiveness. "So to be labeled as a desirable object by definition means one has value. But one is not being complimented for one's passion or intelligence."
In fact, Kehn Thompson, who formerly worked as a spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee, has quite an impressive resume. She could not be reached for comment regarding her description as a trophy wife.
"People may not like Mrs. Thompson for whatever reasons, but she's an accomplished woman, and to call her a trophy wife is really sexist," said Paul Costello, former press secretary for Kitty Dukakis. "And it's really demeaning. No one would use those terms to a guy who was good looking and stylish. I find it really sexist."
Take It as a Compliment
Claims of sexism may abound, but at the end of the day, many women would be flattered to be considered a trophy wife, and those who are not may actually aspire to become one, according to Dr. Debbie Then, a social psychologist who specializes in women and appearance.
"Any woman who is deemed a trophy wife has sort of a feather in her cap, it's a compliment," said Then. "I think most of the women think it's flattering on some level. Because no matter what a woman does in her life, when the chips are down, women are all evaluated based on their appearance."
Smarts and Sex Appeal Are the Key Ingredients, Some Experts Say.
But there may be such a thing as being too beautiful, she said, and many women feel slighted when their beauty is the only thing people notice.
"There can be that double-edged sword that she can be too good looking for her own good," said Then. "It can take away from her other qualities, and people might see her as less professional."
Why the Men Are Smiling
Even if some women are pleased about the trophy wife label, men are likely even happier. Having an attractive wife, some say, cannot only make the husband feel more powerful, but may even make him appear more attractive to others.
"The concept of trophy wives is more focused on the man than the woman in the sense that he has gotten a trophy," said Dr. Lucia Gilbert, a professor at the department of educational psychology and the director of women's studies at the University of Texas-Austin. "He has been able to snag, in a sense, a spouse or a wife that other men are envious of.
And there's the radiated beauty effect, which proves that men who have attractive spouses are considered more popular, more attractive and more successful by other people, regardless of their own looks.
"An unattractive man or a reasonably attractive man will be elevated in the eyes of those around him if he's with an attractive woman," said Then. "And if she's a young beauty queen, even better. People think he must be fabulous to have attracted her."
So Does Mrs. Thompson Fit the Bill?
Whether Kehn Thompson really is a trophy wife may ultimately be up to her to decide. Depending on her perspective on the label, she may deem the trophy wife branding as an insult or a compliment.
Until she says otherwise, it's probably safe to assume that for now Kehn Thompson is OK with dropping the "trophy" moniker and just being a regular wife.
Ol’ Fred has a good line about his sex life: “A lot of ladies tried to catch me, and they usually succeeded.”
True enough. Young hotties are rarely able to love men “for who they are.” But the same is true of desirable men in regard to women. Life is unfair. It doesn’t mean that marriages between youngish babes and prestigious and/or rich oldish men are all about prestige and money. Just that women fear poverty and low prestige, and — if “hot” and therefore in a commanding market position — will possibly look past those things only if the guy is also young and hot, and usually not even then. The sad fact is that both men and women are commodities when it comes to “love.” But there is also genuine personal attraction apart from the marketable, objective facts such as money and status.
God, I hate it when Freepers clutter up threads with pics of ugly people. Can’t you get us something from Hooters or Maxim? Puh-lease.
Is Jeri wearing an elephant pendant in this pic? I believe she is.
A first lady who is a dyed-in-the-wool Republican would be nice. I think it’s been a while since we had one. Both of the Mrs. Bushes, for example, strike me as Republicans-by-heritage (or marriage). A partisan first lady (like Hillary was, but with more class) would be a very good thing. Today, wives in politics almost always influence their men, so they need to be understood when we’re evaluating the men. The same is probably true of the husbands of lady politicians.
“To be successful, keep looking tanned, live in an elegant building (even if you’re in the cellar), be seen in smart restaurants (even if you only nurse one drink) and if you borrow, borrow big.” Aristotle Onassis
“If women didn’t exist, all the money in the world would have no meaning.” Aristotle Onassis
Meow. You may or may not be jealous, but your comments make you sound small minded and petty. I know of several long term marriages between older men and younger women (my father being one of them), some of these men have money, some don't. What they all do have is a marriage that satisfies both spouses and seems to make them both happy and content. You should try to look past appearances and your own prejudice and see with your heart.
Heh, heh. Husband just bought a little, used convertible sports car, and our kids triple-dog-dared me to wear the slut-red lipstick and sunglasses and ride with him in it with the top off.
You ought to see the looks I got...and I'm not all that young either (just 15 years younger than him, but who's counting). The most envious looks came from the young men.
Was it the car? The lipstick? The tanned legs? Or my flowing (dyed) hair?
It's funny but when we first got married (almost 24 years ago) people looked at me like I was some gold-digger, but in reality, I had more money saved in the bank than he did!
Older men make better husbands.
My comment was made to everyone about the choices we, the voters, have got a choice of looking at between Fred and his wife compared to the ex BJ president and old and ugly ankles.
Great photos. I’m trying to think what the downside of having a smart, good looking First Lady is ... but I can’t think of any right now.
Really, that is great.
Great !!!!
Guess I missed that one.
That it would drive the Feminist nuts because women are attracted to a real man, not woos like Edwards.
They will not attack him directly, so they have been going after his wife all week, heck look at all the Feminist (read Hillary supporters, just look at them and you know they are in her camp) that are commenting on her.
Me thinks they are upset at the traditional role, and are throwing barbs at it, because Hillary is anything but traditional and to have someone as shrill as Hillary juxtaposed to Jeri only points that out even more. That's a danger for the feminist, they want to pull the wool over middle America's eyes, it may not work this time.....
If I see some pics of her I’ll ping you. She is quite chubby in all the pics I have seen but some freeper saw her in NH and said she had lost weight.
Booby prize?
More like 25 - 30 minutes for me!
LOL!
“When I think of “trophy wife”, I picture a black pro athlete with a young blond white womwan on his arm.
Will ABC report on these athletes’ trophy wives? ...never.”
I don’t know about that. Tiger Woods and his blonde, Swedish wife Elin Nordegren sure get a lot of publicity. Pictures of the new baby were all over the media a couple of weeks ago. Just do a Google Images search of “Tiger Woods-Elin Nordegren” and about a thousand photos will show up.
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