After Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election, a new trend has emerged in social media. It is called 'MATGA Movement'. The 'Make Aqua Tofana Great Again' or MATGA movement emerged as a protest against Donald Trump's popular 'Make America Great Again' (MAGA) slogan. In this movement, US women are making 'imaginary husband murder' videos, where they show scenes of mixing lethal poison in men's drinks.
The movement specifically pays tribute to the 17th century Italian woman Julia Tofana. She used to sell poison called 'Aqua Tofana' to those who were victims of domestic violence. The poison was used to kill her tyrannical husband.
According to a report by US media Newsweek, social media videos related to the 'MTHGA movement' show women with smiling faces mixing an unknown substance into drinks. Some videos show women wearing rings that hold poison.
The new trend is inspired by 'Julia Tofana'. The famous 'Aqua Tofana' poison he discovered was a deadly invisible poison, used throughout Italy. Once the poison entered the human body it was undetectable. Hence it gained fame. This poison was usually hidden in everyday cosmetic products. As a result husbands never realized that their drink or food was poisoned and their death was imminent.
The slogan for women's freedom of reproduction and dress is 'Sharir myr, Chosh myr'—the slogan is very popular all over the world. But after Trump's victory, the slogan 'Your Body My Choice' is being used in reverse. The movement was born after these misogynistic remarks.
After such slogans went viral, men sent messages to unknown women online trying to tell them that 'their bodies are no longer theirs'. Basically a reaction against this growing misogyny was the MATGA movement.
Some people online have presented this new movement as a modern reminder of the long struggle for women's rights. But critics say the trend is hinting at such a deadly poison that it's jokingly carrying the wrong message. According to them, even if such issues are shown as mere fantasy or protest, it may promote violence, which may be at odds with the main objective.
A TikToker urged women participating in the trend to think about the consequences of poisoning. He wrote in a video, 'Do you know that the videos can be used against you later? Because once posted on the internet it stays forever. Besides, the poison detection technology of 2024 is very different from the 1600s.'
On the other hand, Georgia representative Marjorie Taylor Green warned the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He said these trends are 'death threats' and should be investigated. These women are teaching others how to poison men, because they are angry about the results of the presidential election.
