A section of American women, still irked by the fact that over 56% of men who voted in the US Presidential Polls 2024 favoured Donald Trump, have come up with a counter-campaign against the 'MAGA' (Make America Great Again) slogan. However, the social media trend, named 'MATGA' is of poor taste, most would agree.
What is Aqua Tofana?
'MATGA' stands for 'Make Aqua Tofana Great Again.' In a nutshell, the campaign draws inspiration from a 17th-century Italian serial killer who fancied a homemade poison to "protect" fellow women from abusive husbands. Giulia Tofana supplied the lethal potion to women desperate to free themselves from domestic abuse and cost about 600 men their lives!
Using arsenic and other poisonous substances, Tofana brewed her undetectable, tasteless potion that was stored in cosmetics bottles before use. Giulia's secret weapon came to be known as Aqua Tofana.
USA's MATGA social media trend
But what does a proven serial killer have to do with the Trump Presidency? Well, in the social media trend, some women are suggesting dealing with the Trump supporters the Aqua Tofana way. By backing a man whose policies could take away a woman's rights over her own body (the abortion row), the Trump backers deserve to be fed the potion, the viral trend suggests.
Many US women shared videos on social media platforms including TikTok and X in which they were seen mixing some colorless potions in cups of beverages meant for their partners.
While some of the videos used Eminem's “Venom” song along with the lyrics, “This f**king world better prepare to get laced because they’re gonna taste my venom” to imply what was happening, some used the throat-slitting gesture. Yet others grinned as they laced the cups with the "poison" and showed off wearable baubles with a hidden compartment supposedly made to hold a dose of the poison.
In a video that has gone viral, the creator wrote “My advice for American women, ...I know you will understand this. They asked for it.” Later, she flips open her wearable bauble in front of the mirror and gives the camera a sinister smile.
Severe social media backlash
The campaign, meanwhile attracted widespread criticism from all quarters, particularly from the pro-Trump conservatives.
"They are actually advocating for killing of Donald Trump supporters through a poison called Aqua Tofana, ON CAMERA," one user said on X.
"The only people dividing the country with threats of violence, shooting white men, and poisoning (MATGA) is the very group that claims to be inclusive," another user said.
Earlier, South Korean 4B feminist movement was discussed by a section of women in the United States to battle Trump. It was a more reasonable campaign compared to the problematic MATGA although there existed confusions about how to include married women and sexual minorities into the mix of things.