A trophy wife is a wife who is regarded as a

status symbol A status symbol is a visible, external symbol of one's social position, an indicator of Wealth, economic or social status. Many luxury goods are often considered status symbols. ''Status symbol'' is also a Sociology, sociological term – as part ...

for the husband. The term is often used in a derogatory or disparaging way, implying that the wife in question has little personal merit besides her physical attractiveness, requires substantial expense for maintaining her appearance, is often unintelligent or unsophisticated, does very little of substance beyond remaining attractive, and is in some ways synonymous with the term

gold digger A gold digger is a person, typically a woman, who engages in a type of transactional sexual relationship for money rather than love. If it turns into marriage, it is a type of marriage of convenience. Etymology and usage The term "gold di ...

. A trophy wife is typically relatively young and attractive, and may be a second, third or later wife of an older, wealthier man. A trophy husband is the male equivalent.

History

In his ''Theory of the Leisure Class'' (1899),

Thorstein Veblen Thorstein Bunde Veblen (; July 30, 1857 – August 3, 1929) was an American Economics, economist and Sociology, sociologist who, during his lifetime, emerged as a well-known Criticism of capitalism, critic of capitalism. In his best-known book ...

suggested that "The original reason for the seizure and appropriation of women seems to have been their usefulness as trophies." The term's more recent etymological origins are disputed. One claim is that "trophy wife" originally appeared in a 1950 issue of ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...

'' newspaper, referring to the historical practice of warriors capturing the most beautiful women during battle to bring home as wives. William Safire claimed that the term "trophy wife" was coined by Julie Connelly, a senior editor of '' Fortune'' magazine, in a cover story in the issue of August 28, 1989, and immediately entered common usage. Author

Tom Wolfe Thomas Kennerly Wolfe Jr. (March 2, 1930 – May 14, 2018)Some sources say 1931; ''The New York Times'' and Reuters both initially reported 1931 in their obituaries before changing to 1930. See and was an American author and journalist widely ...

, himself often credited with coining the term, disclaimed it in a talk given at Brown University in 1996, wherein he also credited ''Fortune'' magazine in an article published "not that long ago". Many sources claim the term was coined earlier (for example, the ''

Online Etymology Dictionary Etymonline, or ''Online Etymology Dictionary'', sometimes abbreviated as OED (not to be confused with the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', which the site often cites), is a free online dictionary that describes the etymology, origins of English la ...

'' cites 1984), but easy online access to William Safire's article about the term has led many (such as the ''

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP), a University of Oxford publishing house. The dictionary, which published its first editio ...

'') to believe that August 28, 1989, was its first use. However, the idiom is found in passing in a quote in a 1965 publication, apparently referring to the wife of Bernie Madoff. The 1994 marriage of former Playboy Playmate

Anna Nicole Smith Vickie Lynn Marshall (née Hogan; November 28, 1967 – February 8, 2007), known professionally as Anna Nicole Smith, was an American model, actress, and television personality. Smith started her career as a ''Playboy'' magazine centerfold in M ...

to oil billionaire J. Howard Marshall was widely followed by the US mass media as an extreme example of this concept. At the time of their marriage, he was 89 years old and she was 26. Elizabeth McClintock, a sociologist at the University of Notre Dame, believes the phenomenon in modern society is less common than other research suggests.

References

External links

The New Trophy Wife , HuffPost Women
Book citation, power couples are the "in" thing.
T3 magazine in a review of the Motorola luxury "Aura" mobile phone model
"We think it’s best to think of the AURA as the trophy-wife of the phone world, it’s great to look at and bring to social occasions, but that’s about it."
End of the Century , C-SPAN.org
End of the Century. C-SPAN, lecture at Brown University, April 17, 1996. "Now I have sometimes been credited with coining the term to try the words not true. It was coined by Fortune magazine in a brilliant piece not that long ago..." {{DEFAULTSORT:Trophy Wife Wives Pejorative terms for women Sexuality and age Stereotypes of women

History

See also

References

External links