It’s inarguable that fatherlessness is one of the leading causes of the ongoing epidemic of broken young men in modern society.
But the impact that fathers can have isn’t exclusive to men.
There is ample evidence that a strong fatherly figure can have a lot of positive influence on daughters as well — with the inverse being just as tragically true.
Case in point: 18-year-old Claudia Conway, daughter of Kellyanne and George Conway.
The Conways, once a Republican power couple, announced their divorce in March. While the two asked for privacy, many speculated that the widening political chasm between the two likely played some role in the split.
Kellyanne was a former adviser to then-President Donald Trump, while George is perhaps best known for co-founding a group, the Lincoln Project, that can charitably be described as “anti-Trump.”
At the time, Claudia remained mostly tight-lipped on the matter, though she did voice her support for both of her parents. Claudia Conway did, however, lament the way the media was treating her mother:
also why does the media love to tear women down😭be so fr all these journalists hatefully commenting on another woman’s marriage are either divorced, will be single forever, or haven’t met their husband’s secretary yet
— Claudia Conway (@claudiamconwayy) March 8, 2023
Would you be angry if your daughter did this?
Yes: 72% (276 Votes)
No: 28% (107 Votes)
“[A]lso why does the media love to tear women down,” Claudia tweeted. “[Be so for real] all these journalists hatefully commenting on another woman’s marriage are either divorced, will be single forever, or haven’t met their husband’s secretary yet.”
It’s surprising that she didn’t throw in a plug for “their husband’s digital Playboy.com account,” because just a month later, that’s where Claudia Conway was taking her career.
According to the New York Post, Claudia began operating her subscription-based page in April, a mere six months after turning 18 and just a month after her parents’ divorce became public news.
Playboy.com likens itself as a “safer” alternative to OnlyFans. Whereas the latter can feature full-on hardcore pornography, Playboy.com, as its defunct print predecessor also liked to claim, features “artistic nudity.” The pathetic attempt at a distinction is that “artistic nudity” obscures certain parts of the body.
Regardless of what is and isn’t being shown, the content is smut, and Claudia Conway has no problem peddling it to husbands and fathers out there.
And it’s at this point where a critical eye could turn to the role Claudia’s own father, George Conway, played in this debasement.
Listen, despite whatever public-facing front George may put on regarding his daughter, there’s just no way he can be proud of his daughter being ogled by complete strangers while in various stages of undress. If he is proud of her, that should tell you everything you need to know about George Conway.
But let’s give George the benefit of the doubt, and assume he’s not thrilled with his daughter’s choice of career. It’s hard to drum up much sympathy for George in that case, when it’s increasingly clear that his own unhinged behavior is having some deep-rooted effects on his daughter’s psyche.
How so?
Well, first and foremost, who can forget George’s unconscionable attack on Melania Trump for the impermissible sin of defending her son? That debacle made it clear that George Conway enjoys cultivating fans on the left, and also has no clue what good parenting looks like.
So therefore you’re amplifying what was a nothingburger reference a hundred-thousand-fold. Got it. https://t.co/MMSBhMWQE4
— George Conway (@gtconway3d) December 4, 2019
A leftist father who doesn’t know how to parent? That’s like saying a knife that’s meant to cut.
But it’s not just that. George has also shown a wild propensity for devaluing women any chance he gets, as evinced by his nonsensical critique of a mother in Melania.
George Conway came under fire for calling Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik “lying trash” in November 2019.
.@EliseStefanik is lying trash. Please give to her opponent, @TedraCobb. https://t.co/NDstzv2Qgr
— George Conway (@gtconway3d) November 16, 2019
That same month, George had reportedly been lamenting to confidants that his then-wife was “in a cult” in the Trump administration because, God forbid, a woman has her own independent thoughts.
Claudia Conway’s defense of her burgeoning Playboy.com career echoes her own father’s questionable takes on a woman’s worth and value:
autonomy and freedom are two things everyone should have. don’t let someone capitalize off of your vulnerabilities— reclaim them. sending you all light and love on this tuesday 💗
— Claudia Conway (@claudiamconwayy) May 23, 2023
“the only comment i’ll provide: when i was 15-16, i was exploited by the media, preyed upon, and was forced into portraying myself as something i wasn’t,” Claudia Conway tweeted out.
That age range that Claudia is describing would put her firmly during the peak of her parents’ public squabbling over all things Trump.
“my body was taken from me. now, as a young adult, i am aiming to reclaim my womanhood and femininity in a way that is truly mine,” she continued. “i am putting myself out there in a way that is MY OWN and no one else’s. i have full control of my body and my voice.
“i believe in writing your own narrative, like i’ve said in the past, and taking back what was once unjustly taken from you.”
Again, there is nothing empowering or particularly feminine about smut. It is profiteering off of literal sin.
It also sends the message that a woman’s value is directly tied to the monetary value a sad, strange, lonely man would pay for a close-up picture of her feet. There’s nothing empowering about that.
Look, if Claudia Conway’s brief time under the political microscope was too much for her, that’s fair. A searing spotlight is not for everyone.
But letting Playboy.com take advantage of that trauma is, quite literally, the opposite of anything resembling empowerment.
A respectful and thoughtful father would have been able to teach his daughter what actual value and respect look like.
George Conway clearly isn’t that.
And it’s his daughter who’s paying the heftiest price for that.
