A new online trend about women poisoning their husbands is gaining attention in the wake of President-elect Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election.
The trend, known as “MATGA,” stands for Make Aqua Tofana Great Again. It refers to a historical poison from the 1600s supposedly created by Gulia Tofana who used the concoction to help women escape abusive relationships with their husbands.
Posts referencing the trend have earned hundreds of thousands of combined views on TikTok. Most of these clips use Eminem’s “Venom” as a backing track.
Videos circulating the site show women emptying vials of clear liquid into a full glass before cutting to an image of Tofana doing the same. Another clip with 1.7 million refers to women getting “Aqua Tofana tattoos.”
Another video, also set to “Venom,” instructs women on “what flowers to plant to their gardens over the next few years!” These include several poisonous plants, including azalea, foxglove and hydrangea.
“Because they’re pretty, and absolutely no other reason why,” the post’s caption reads. “Remember ladies, thoroughly researching any and all plants before you handle them in any way is both mindful AND demure. We love educated gardeners.”
Hashtags included on that post include #feminism #womensrights and #power.
The trend coincides with the rise in popularity of #4b, a trend upholding the radical feminist South Korean 4B movement. Participants in the movement agree to swear off dating, giving birth, marriage and intercourse with men.
Women joining the movement now say they are using it to speak out against Trump’s involvement in overturning Roe v. Wade and accusations of sexual assault against him.
One such video with nearly 10 million views includes the caption “doing my part as an American woman by breaking up with my Republican boyfriend last night & officially joining the 4b movement this morning.”
Another post with over three million views describes a woman having “the fastest, most uncomplicated breakup of my life” after learning her boyfriend voted for Trump.
The popular Facebook account Feminist News in the lead-up to the presidential election shared a guide instructing women to leave their “moronic, right wing husband.” The guide advised women to save money, replace trackable electronics and abandon their husbands in the middle of the work day.
