AOC Accosted by Republican White Man and Democratic White Women
If we want unity, we must stand in solidarity with Black women and NBWOC when cis men attack them.
“I can’t stand that brat!”
“I don’t like AOC for her millennial self-entitlement.”
“She is pretty and fuckable to the patriarchal media”
“AOC is not my cup of tea. I am more of a Katie Porter fan. I like people who get things done.”
“You can go ahead and worship AOC but we don’t have too.”
“You’re full of shit. Go find an AOC fan club…”
“Pretty, thin women can get away with saying things that get interpreted very differently when they come from older, less pretty women.”
These are all Facebook comments made over the last 24 hours on just two different posts about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in the aftermath of her speech on the House floor. She confronted Rep Ted Yoho for his comments to her, including a finger to the face, called “dangerous”, and called “a fucking bitch”. One woman thinks AOC isn’t even feminist at all and is rather like Megyn Kelly who only uses feminism when it suits her. One woman says AOC enjoys the attention. And yet another woman thinks that all AOC does is provide ammunition for Republicans to use against Democrats. Some of these women claim that NO woman deserves to be accosted and treated the way Rep Ocasio-Cortez was treated, but only one sentence is devoted to that concession in all the paragraphs written about how AOC is JUST NOT GOOD ENOUGH.
What is missing entirely from this conversation is the support these white women should have handed AOC without condition. Like Lynda Carter told AOC: “Never stop being fierce.” The original Wonder Woman actress can address AOC properly with the validation and encouragement all non cis men deserve. But far be it from all these self-proclaimed “feminists” to put down their swords against the Left wing of the Party to show solidarity in this moment.
I don’t know why white women insist on still holding these swords against the Progressive Left. The only things remaining of the attempted power grab of Bernie Sanders and The Justice Democrats are a handful of progressive politicians in office who now have to pragmatically work with their colleagues and whiny Fauxgressive Rose Twitter. It is time to stop acting like the battle we’ve been fighting on the left is still going. It is over. It is time to put our swords down and move forward in unity towards our shared goals.
Actually, I know why white women still hold these swords: Racism and jealousy.
Racism is something all us white women are groomed to uphold. For the 53% of white women who voted for Trump, it’s clear the sexism they deal with is the price they simply must pay to retain the power they have standing next to white men over all other marginalized groups. White women on the left still want that power over other marginalized groups. That’s why some Elizabeth Warren fans on Twitter insist she be Biden’s VP pick because we’ve apparently been waiting long enough and it’s OUR turn to have some power before we allow a Black woman to have that spot.
Two things white women on the left like to do that are also grounded in racism are:
1. Being overly critical of Black women and NBWOC in ways we are not critical of white women for the same behavior
2. Not defending Black women and NBWOC the same as we would defend other white women. This does not only mean not speaking out against cis men when they mistreat us in some way, but also allowing others to mistreat them in the spaces we control. Especially mistreatment veiled as valid criticism. This is also tied to #1.
These white women may not have called Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez a “fucking bitch”, but their comments are dehumanizing and reek of jealousy just the same. Claiming she’s too much because she is skinny, pretty, wears red lipstick, and is fuckable treats her as the same piece of meat cis men would treat her as. It is no less disgusting to have your jealousy on full display while cutting her down to a sex object. I have two questions: what the fuck is wrong with you? How are you a feminist?
I want to point out that Rep Yoho told AOC she was dangerous. Republicans are scared shitless of her. They are ALWAYS scared shitless of powerful women. Women who are not only in positions of power, but women who are ambitious and bow down to no one. This is more of a reason why white women should be standing with her, not against her.
In her speech on the House floor, AOC acknowledged that all of us face the treatment she received from Rep. Yoho. She acknowledged this is cultural and nothing new. This means she is very well aware of whose shoulders she stands on. She is also 30 years old and light years ahead of where I was at her age. That should not be source of jealousy for me, but of pride. Pride that older women have successfully passed down lessons to our younger peers and children to do better and go farther than we have.
At this moment, it does not matter if you agree with her platform or politics. It does not matter if you have things to say about her past actions, behavior, or votes. IT DOESN’T MATTER.
What matters is, what happened to her, has happened to all of us. And like the wall of moms in Portland, we’re supposed to be linked arm in arm, standing up for those more marginalized than us no matter what lipstick color they wear.
So dear fellow white women: we can revoke your feminist card. You can take down your cover photo that says “Well behaved women rarely make history” — because you really don’t believe in it. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have spent the last 24 hours of your life agreeing with some sexist Republican white man that AOC is “dangerous.”
