“He called me ‘crazy,’ he called me ‘out of my mind.’ And he called me ‘dangerous’,” says New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as she proceeds to describe the events that took place on the steps of the Capitol this week between her and Florida Representative Ted Yoho. Events during which his “passion,” as he called it, for politics justified him accosting her and slinging the garden variety anti-woman slur of being a “fucking bitch.” And why is she a fucking bitch? Because she didn’t go along with something, Yoho, a white male of the old guard, believed. The reason he called her dangerous is likely not fully known even to him (apart from disagreeing with her speculations on why crime in NY has increased). For Ocasio-Cortez’s “danger” lies in the men of Washington being unable to silence her. For once, a woman has not seen fit to back down simply because she feels threatened by the long-standing, overwhelmingly patriarchal power structure.
With regard to that word, “passion,” it’s oh so easy for a man to fall back on it when he’s expressed rage in the way that all males are allowed to without being called such things as a fucking crazy bitch. When women get “passionate,” however, which just means raising their voice more than an octave, it’s time to shove them in the attic à la Bertha Mason (all the more apropos in this instance considering the literary speculation that Bertha was not “pure” white and that not being said “pure” race was at least part of her madness). Representative Yoho picked the wrong woman to attempt shoving. Indeed, after his behavior, he doesn’t even deserve such a reverent title. And yet, Ocasio-Cortez was measured and deliberate in consistently addressing him with this term of respect, and never raising her voice even remotely above a level that would be deemed “scary” for a woman to do. After all, men only respond to sonorous, honeyed female voices–for anything above too high a decibel is sure to get her branded as a shrew. This, to be sure, was a contrived method on AOC’s part to maintain the attention of the man she was referencing, as well as men like him who have still remained accustomed to having their so-called power and authority go unchecked. Not just because they have the impunity that most white male politicians do, but because so many, women included, have chosen to accept their behavior with silence. Yesterday, AOC made it clear that she did not accept this behavior, therefore could not remain silent about it, even if what she called “dehumanizing language” does not offend her any longer at this point, having been so desensitized to it not only as a woman, but a woman who spent enough time living among the hyper-sexual streets of New York City, as well as working in bars and restaurants where women’s treatment is tenfold worse in their official (as opposed to tacit) role as server.
As Ocasio-Cortez built toward the ultimate points of her landmark speech, one that will surely go down not only in U.S. political history as one of the greats, but also in her own political career as it continues to mount, she reminded everyone that women from all walks of life endure what she just did on the steps of the Capitol, stating, “All of us have had to deal with this in some way, in some shape, at some point. This is not new–and that is the problem. Mr. Yoho was not alone. He was walking shoulder-to-shoulder with Senator Roger Williams. And that’s when we start to see that this issue is not about one incident. It is cultural. It is a culture of impunity, of accepting of violence, of violent language against women in an entire structure of power that supports that. Because not only have I been spoken to disrespectfully, particularly by members of the Republican party… but the President of the United States last year told me to go home, to another country. With the implication that I don’t even belong in America.”
With AOC operating within an institution that is the most patriarchal and old guard of all (so much so that people still somehow preferred voting for an orange monster over a woman who was infinitely more qualified for the job), her courageousness in standing up to say these things publicly cannot be underscored enough. She continued, “Dehumanizing language is not new. And what we are seeing is that incidents like these are happening in a pattern. This is a pattern of an attitude towards women and dehumanization of others. So while I was not deeply hurt or offended by little comments that are made, when I was reflecting on this, I honestly thought that I was just gonna pack it up and go home. It’s just another day.” Because that’s what most women tell themselves when they just don’t want to “deal with it” a.k.a. the fallout of upsetting the increasingly fragile male ego. Increasingly fragile because they know their final reckoning is coming. Even for those hiding behind a false cloak of feminism. AOC further explained, “But then… Representative Yoho decided to come to the floor and make excuses for his behavior, and that I could not let go. I could not allow [women] to see that excuse and to see our Congress accept it as legitimate. Accept it as an apology. And to accept silence as a form of acceptance… which is why I’m rising today to raise this point of personal privilege.”
Not only because he is white and male, but because he decided that wielding the classic defense of “I myself have a wife and daughter”–in his case, two daughters–would be enough to explain away that he doesn’t hate women, nor could he ever be capable of treating them badly, regardless of the overt fresh example of that capability. So it was that AOC declared, “What I have issue with is using women–‘our wives and daughters’–as shields and excuses for poor behavior. Mr. Yoho mentioned that he has a wife and two daughters. I am someone’s daughter, too. My father, thankfully, is not alive to see how Mr. Yoho treated his daughter. My parents… did not raise me to accept abuse from men. This harm that Mr. Yoho levied–tried to levy–was not just an incident directed at me, but when you do that to any woman, what Mr. Yoho did was give permission to other men to do that to his daughters. In using that language in front of the press, he gave permission to use that language against his wife, his daughters. Women in his community. And I am here to stand up and say that is not acceptable.”
Yoho’s initial approach toward her was to accuse her of being unreasonable or unhinged for suggesting that the crime rate in New York has spiked due to rampant unemployment and the desperation it causes. Beyond poverty, Yoho managed to turn it into an even larger comment on the acceptance of how women are interacted with every day. Which is why AOC felt obliged to blow the “wife and daughter” defense out of the water with, “And so what I believe is that having a daughter does not make a man decent. Having a wife does not make a decent man. Treating people with dignity and respect makes a decent man. And when a decent man messes up, as we are all bound to do, he tries his best and does apologize. Not to save face, not to win a vote. He apologizes genuinely to repair and acknowledge the harm done.”
There are very few men with political power–not just in America, but worldwide–doing that right now. Delivering her coup de grâce, she turned Mr. Yoho’s outburst into something ultimately beneficial by positioning it with the conclusion: “I want to thank [Mr. Yoho] for showing the world that you can be a powerful man and accost women. You can have daughters and accost women. Without remorse. You can be married and accost women. You can take photos and project an image to the world of being a family man and accost women without remorse and with a sense of impunity. It happens every day in this country.” In short, you can go fuck yourself if you think being a “family man” is an automatic signal of virtue while you write off any woman who disagrees with you as a crazy bitch. The proverbial mad woman in the attic that even Taylor Swift has had to come to the defense of. Because we are still somehow living in a society where this trope is embraced and validated as a means to excuse male wrongdoing. After AOC’s speech, that defense is shattered.
