Trophy Wife

Trophy wife is an informal term for a wife, usually young and attractive, who is regarded as a status symbol for the husband, who is often older or unattractive, but usually wealthy. Such a gentleman may be referred to as a sugar daddy. The term is normally used in a derogatory or disparaging way. The term trophy husband is the male equivalent, although this is rarer.

Referring to a spouse as a trophy wife usually reflects negatively on the character or personality of both parties. For the husband, it has a connotation of pure narcissism and the need to impress other men, and that the husband would not be able to attract the sexual interest of the attractive woman for any reason apart from his wealth or position. It can also be used to imply that the trophy wife in question has little personal merit besides her physical attractiveness, does very little of substance beyond remaining attractive, requires substantial expense for maintaining her appearance and is in some ways synonymous with the term .

The term's etymological origins are disputed. One claim is that "trophy wife" originally appeared in a 1950 issue of The Economist 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. Many sources claim the term was coined earlier (for example, the Online Etymology Dictionary cites 1984), but easy online access to William Safire's article about the term has led many (such as Oxford English Dictionary) 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.

Considering the possible recent origins of the term it must be noted that the term in Latin, Tropaeum uxor, appears in many scripts of both Greek and Roman origin dating as far back as the first half of the first century. There is the example found in the Naturalis Historia (by Pliny the Younger), though the meaning was probably not close to today's meaning and referred to "trophy women" as part of the tribute paid to Roman conquerors by defeated opponents. One University of Notre Dame sociologist believes the phenomenon in modern society is less common than other research suggests.

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