Trudeaus clearly comfortable in their own skin
First he emerged from a Quebec cave, like a Canadian prophet, smiling and shirtless. Then, only a few days later, he materialized on the shores of Tofino, B.C., an unforeseen and shirtless spectator at a beach wedding.
I am referring, of course, to Justin Trudeau, our clothing-wary prime minister who has been showing a lot of skin lately — and not just his own.
This weekend the PM tweeted a photo of his wife, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, breastfeeding the couple’s youngest son, Hadrien. Trudeau tweeted the now viral photo to mark World Breastfeeding Week, an event that seeks to end the stigma around and emphasize the benefits of breastfeeding.
It only makes sense then, that in said photo, we can see the top of Grégoire Trudeau’s breast, the sentiment being that breasts, especially in the context of breastfeeding, are neither sexual nor scandalous. They simply are.
In fact, the caption attached to the tweet, attributed to Grégoire Trudeau herself, reads: “This World Breastfeeding Week, let’s support mothers to breastfeed anytime, anywhere.”
Or not.
It seems that in light of the Trudeau family’s recent episodes of exposed epidermis (both accidental and intentional), there are those in our fair nation who cannot, and will not, tolerate a prime ministerial family that flouts the invisible — yet apparently sacred — laws of political decorum.
I am not only referring to conservative pundits and media organizations .
(“I’d tell Justin Trudeau that it’s time to roll up his sleeves and get back to work, but he’s never wearing a shirt,” noted former Conservative
Can we not this once give the woman a break for the sake of maternal health?
cabinet minister Monte Solberg).
I am referring also to average social media-obsessed Canadians, many of whom are forever disapproving of Justin and Sophie’s various states of public undress, yet can’t stop looking and talking about such things.
The eternal question that follows nearly every viral story about Trudeau’s naked torso and Sophie’s semi-naked breast is, ironically: “But aren’t there more important things to discuss?”
Well of course there are. There always are.
But can we not, as a nation, take a break from fretting about the fragility of the economy and bemoaning the ascent of an authoritarian, unnaturally tawny American presidential candidate to marvel for a moment at a prime minister caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, wearing nothing but half a wetsuit?
Can’t this be a bipartisan activity? It is, after all, objectively funny. You don’t have to be an adherent to so-called “Trudeaumania” to genuinely appreciate such a moment of awesome informality.
And with regard to Sophie’s endorsement of public breastfeeding, can we not this once give the woman a break for the sake of maternal health?
It is, after all, brave and powerful to put oneself out there — quite literally — for a good cause.
Say what you want about the Trudeaus — that their surname and good looks are largely responsible for their success (I certainly believe they are) — but please spare us the prudish, cynical and utterly false theory that the couple’s casual, stylish, friendly and in this case, nude, presence tarnishes Canada’s reputation on the world stage.
Pluck, affability and unrelenting optimism (a.k.a. “sunny ways”) are traits that are perhaps annoying but they are not evidence, as Liberal opponents like to claim, of irresponsible and stupid leadership.
So, a word of wisdom to Canadian conservatives scandalized by prime ministerial, Liberal nipples: the Trudeau family has not caused the world at large to think about us in a far less serious light because — news flash — the world at large really doesn’t think about us very much at all. Emma Teitel is a national columnist.