Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: Ocasio-Cortez defends attendance at Met Gala amid GOP disruption Business groups feel push to reduce democratic priorities Maloney calls for equal rights for women in Met Gala dress MORE (DN.Y.) wore a showy “Tax the Rich” dress at the brilliant Met Gala on Monday night, and broke the internet.
Criticism and praise fell instantly.
His. Ted Cruz
Rafael (Ted) Edward Cruz: Ocasio-Cortez defends attendance at Met Gala amid GOP bustle Hawley pledges to walk slowly to Biden Pentagon, state chooses messy exit from Afghanistan Conservatives in Canada prove dangerously biased by American politics MORE (R-Texas) wasn’t a big fan of the dress or its message, which wasn’t a surprise. The legions of Ocasio-Cortez fans on social media (he has 12.7 million followers on his main Twitter account and 8.7 million on Instagram) loved it.
The episode stressed that Ocasio-Cortez, 31 and only in his second term in Congress, is a unique figure in contemporary politics. His ability to take advantage of social media, popular culture and fashion in the service of his agenda is unlike any other elected office.
Ocasio-Cortez’s appeal is not just about a presence on social media or any unique story, such as the dress. Instead, it has its roots, experts say, in comfort with the customs of its generation and casual authenticity.
“Absolutely outstanding,” said John Parmelee, co-author of “Twitter’s Politics and Revolution” and director of the North Florida University School of Communications.
That’s why some leftists want him to challenge the leader of the Senate majority Charles Schumer
Chuck SchumerOvernight Energy & Environment – Presented by Climate Power: Democratic leaders vote climate action amid split. Biden expresses confidence in the climate in a visit of renewable energies. (NY) in next year’s Democratic primaries, which he hasn’t ruled out.
For younger voters, in particular, Parmelee said, there is a desire “to see the politician behind the curtain, to go behind the political aspects and get to know the politician as a person.”
Ocasio-Cortez, he said, was the preeminent example.
One of her first truly viral tweets after being elected in 2018 was to briefly dance to the old anti-militarist song “War” in Congress halls. The abbreviated title “AOC” started on social media before she adopted it for herself.
Even his appearances on television include stops that are hard to imagine making any other politician: he was a judge of “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” He returned to the Bronx with Desus and Mero of Showtime, whom he lamented for the lack of decent wineries in Washington.
Ocasio-Cortez’s desire to communicate in a personalized way ranges from lighter topics such as cooking to more serious ones. Her memories of her January 6 insurrection experience, also live, included that she spoke of fearing for her life and revealing that she was a survivor of sexual assault.
Sharing such raw emotions also carries its dangers. People who don’t like their politics call it self-promotion. Figures on the right found that the January 6-related live broadcast was hyperbolic rather than discouraging, noting that Ocasio-Cortez had been at some distance from the Capitol riots.
And, as even a superficial look will show as social media demonstrates, his detractors attack him in more terribly personal terms.
The enmity directed at Ocasio-Cortez has worried some of his comrades. In May, Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) Told this column that she had “genuine concern” for her safety.
Ocasio-Cortez has occasionally reflected on the disadvantage of his status as a de facto political celebrity.
“Sometimes it looks like you got a tattoo on your face that you didn’t ask for,” he told HuffPost in 2019.
The congresswoman did receive some adverse comments, even from liberal-leaning figures for her attendance at the Met Gala, which is an annual gathering of New York’s social elite. Ocasio-Cortez was a guest guest, but for those who paid the privilege of being there, tickets cost $ 35,000.
To some, it seemed a rarefied atmosphere in which to defend the imposition of the rich. Donald Trump
Donald TrumpNewsom boasts victory over memory because rejection of “Trumpism” Newsom easily overcomes withdrawal effort in California The second senior official to leave DHS in a week MORE Jr., the former president’s eldest son, tweeted that it was a “fraud” to wear the suit “with a bunch of wealthy left-wing elites.”
But the focus of this critique seemed to miss the point.
Interviewed by a journalist on the red carpet Monday night, Ocasio-Cortez explained part of her reasoning for wearing such a provocative dress to the event.
When it comes to the debate over higher taxation, “often this conversation is happening [only] with working-class and middle-class people, “he said.” I think it’s time to bring all classes into the conversation of having a fairer country. “
The use that Ocasio-Cortez’s fashion made of Monday as his political point also raised the sensitive and cumbersome issue of his looks, and what role they play in his rise to political stardom.
While this topic draws a lot of rawness on social media, one of the most thoughtful comments came from Tressie McMillan Cottom, a sociologist and professor at the University of North Carolina, in a mid-year media outreach essay.
McMillan Cottom argued, from the right, “they hate her because she’s beautiful.”
The sociologist went to great lengths to point out that she did not reduce Ocasio-Cortez to her appearance.
“I don’t think the AOC is just or just pretty,” he wrote. He argued, however, that it was Ocasio-Cortez’s progressive policy, along with his appearance, that drove the Conservatives around.
On the right, she stated, “beauty is seen as the only legitimate capital that women can have. But beauty is supposed to serve the interests of power. When beauty occurs in an” undisciplined body, “like the body of a non-white person, is an existential threat “.
Ocasio-Cortez addressed the issue on Tuesday, when asked about the negative comments he had received for the Met Gala appearance.
“I thought about the criticism I would receive, but honestly, both I and my body have been politically controlled with so much force and relentlessness from every corner from the moment I won my election, that for me it went away. normalize and wait, ”he wrote on Instagram. .
“Our culture,” she added, “is deeply despised and unsupportive of women.”
Of course, there will be more controversy to come. Ocasio-Cortez’s conservative critics will not approach her in any way or the democratic socialism she advocates.
However, on some level, the dress saga elevates the congresswoman and her politics once again.
“She loves the dress or hates the dress, but you’re talking about the dress,” journalist and broadcaster Tanzina Vega wrote on Twitter on Tuesday. “So who won?”
The Memo is a column reported by Niall Stanage.