Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez made history by being the youngest woman ever elected to congress at age 29. AOC serves the 14th district of New York in the Bronx and Queens. She grew up in the reality of New York’s income inequality and has dedicated her career to organizing her community by running for office on a very progressive platform. Some of her most influential moments include:
Her Iconic Look
Hoop earrings are traditionally not viewed as professional attire, as well as red lipstick, which has a history of being connected to “scandalous women.” Her response to these standards for women: “Next time someone tells Bronx girls to take off their hoops, they can just say they’re dressing like a Congresswoman.”
Her Dancing
After a video of her dancing during her college years was released and conservatives went after her for it, AOC responded with a video of her dancing in front of her office. The caption: “If Republicans thought women dancing in college is scandalous, wait till they find out women dance in Congress, too!”
Her Clap-Back
Recently, Florida Representative Ted Yoho went viral after he called AOC “crazy” “disgusting” “dangerous” and a “f*cking bitch.” He went on to apologize, stating that he has a wife and family, AOC responded with an almost 10-minute speech calling him out for using the women in his life as shields for his comportment:
“I am here because I have to show my parents that I am their daughter, and they did not raise me to accept abuse from men.” She continued, “This harm that Mr. Yoho tried to levy at me was not just directed at me. When you do that to any woman, what Mr. Yoho did was give permission to other men to do that to his daughters. . . . I am here to say, that is not acceptable.”
Her Determination
AOC pointed out the double standards and white supremacy in the U.S. when she confronted FBI’s Michael McGarrity on how certain crimes are labeled as domestic terrorism versus others as hate crimes. She spoke about how the Charleston church and Pittsburgh synagogue shootings were labeled as hate crimes, not domestic terrorism.
McGarrity claimed that domestic terrorists are affiliated with global organizations. She went on to ask him if white supremacy was a worldwide problem, to which he affirmed, and she responded with: “So why are they not charged with foreign terror?” She didn’t sugar coat anything as she asked, “Doesn’t it seem like because the perpetrator is Muslim that the designation would say it’s a foreign organization?”
Another time she stood up and called out injustice was when an ICE whistleblower disclosed that a doctor at a detention center was performing hysterectomies without patients’ knowledge or consent. AOC tweeted, “Where is the line?” “It’s astounding that after a massive family separation operation, mass sexual assault of detainees, trapping immigrants in COVID-infected detention centers, and now reports of mass hysterectomies (which the US has done before), abolishing ICE is controversial.”