 "Women on social media are participating in MATGA videos. X/@ImMeme0")
Donald Trump’s victory in the United States presidential election has spooked liberals in the country. The fear of his re-election hurting reproductive rights has worried many women.
Trump’s running mate and US Vice President-elect JD Vance has previously supported a national abortion ban. However, Trump has said he would veto a federal abortion ban. The former US president has taken credit for helping to overturn Roe v Wade by the US Supreme Court in 2022, ending the constitutional right to abortion .
Now, with the Republican leader returning to the White House, several women on social media have launched “MATGA” – Make Aqua Tofana Great Again – a satirical spin on Trump’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) slogan.
But what is this? Let’s take a look.
What’s MATGA?
Videos have spread online of young women mixing an unidentified component in drinks such as tea. These clips have garnered millions of views on X and TikTok.
Women can be seen adulterating a drink, mockingly alluding to poisoning.
One clip shows a user reacting to the misogynistic phrase “Your body, my choice” that reportedly went viral after Trump’s win against Democratic Party leader Kamala Harris last week. The words “Aqua Tofana isn’t that hard to make” are superimposed over the footage as the woman makes the throat-slitting gesture with her thumb.
Many videos feature Eminem’s song Venom with the lyrics in the background, “This f–king world better prepare to get laced because they’re gonna taste my venom.”
Other users show off their “poison rings”, signalling a deep sense of frustration and dismay gripping many women in the US.
Some have dubbed the video the MATGA movement, a reference to Trump’s MAGA campaign and legendary serial killer Giulia Tofana.
This comes after some women started showing interest in the 4B, a protest movement in South Korea that asks women to boycott men. The 4B stands for bihon meaning no to heterosexual marriage; bichulsan that is no childbirth; biyeonae meaning no dating; and bisekseu meaning no heterosexual sexual relationships.
A note of caution
The videos reflect women’s growing anger at the election outcome in the US. While the content seems humorous, the suggestion of “poisoning” beverages or wearing “poison rings” is not a matter of jest.
A woman posted a video on TikTok, urging the participants to mull about the real-world ramifications of such clips.
“You do know those videos can be used against you, right? It’s giving off premeditated vibes. The internet is forever. Also, the 1600s were a lot different than 2024 advancements in detecting poison,” she said, as per New York Post.
The woman and her poison
Giulia Tofana was an Italian woman in 17th-century Rome. At the time, women suffered abuse in their marriages with no recourse for a divorce.
According to Historia Magazine, Tofana sold poison to women who wanted to get rid of their abusive husbands. It is believed over 600 men – from dukes to commoners – died from her potion across Italy. The brew known as “Aqua Tofana,” which was tasteless and odourless, was a mix of arsenic, belladonna and lead.
Tofana ran the criminal network from her apothecary, with the circle including widowed, poor and outcast women.
The poisonous liquid was reportedly kept in ordinary cosmetics bottles to avoid detection.
Tofana was eventually caught and executed in Campo de’ Fiori in Rome in 1659.
While dozens of lower-class women were killed after it came to light they bought the poison, many upper-class women were banished or imprisoned.
With inputs from agencies