This paper problematizes the role that Arab First Ladies play in the legitimation of Arab authoritarian regimes vis-a-vis Western publics and governments. We argue that some Arab First Ladies have attempted to position themselves as “modern,” “Western-oriented” and "progressive" through their high-profile social, economic, and cultural activities focused on women and children. Moreover, the gendered character of their activities, focusing on the traditional “women’s sphere,” functions to “soften” the image of otherwise highly repressive and corrupt regimes, distracting from their authoritarian character. Using multiple-methods and comparative research, we examine Jordan’s Queen Rania, Egypt’s Suzanne Mubarak, and Syria’s Asmaa Al Assad, and examine how each has represented their work, including through social media. We analyze Arabic and English language media coverage and the social media presence of these First Ladies (Queen Rania has over thirty million combined followers on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram). In addition to both quantitative and interpretive analysis of 1286 Instagram posts and 2200 tweets by Queen Rania, and 897 Instagram posts by Asmaa Al Assad, we also utilize State Department cables available through Wikileaks and Foreign Aliens Registration Act filings for Queen Rania and the Jordanian and Egyptian governments. We supplement this with three interviews with people who worked directly for Suzanne Mubarak and Asmaa Al Assad in their development and charitable activities. Our research reveals that all three First Ladies purposefully curated images of themselves, with varying degrees of success, as “modern,” “progressive,” and “Western-oriented” Arab/Muslim women “reformers,” eliding the autocratic, character of their regimes. Queen Rania, Suzanne Mubarak, and Asma Al Assad also leveraged their “Western connections” to their advantage, as all three speak English fluently, are unveiled, and have significant personal and/or educational connections with the West. For all three First Ladies, their highly curated self-presentations and focus on the traditional “female sphere” was used instrumentally to “soften” the image of their repressive, corrupt, and autocratic regimes. Our research both draws upon and contributes to literatures about gender and authoritarianism, the durability of authoritarian regimes, and social media and politics.