Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said no mas to the misogynist culture women, particularly women of color, have had to endure in American society. In a speech before the U.S. Congress on July 23, 2020, AOC (as she’s known) called out her white, older, male counterpart for calling her “a f**king b*tch.”
It left the nation stunned, but it also led many women to ask themselves: “What took us so long to say something?”
To date, AOC’s speech has garnered almost 16 million views in only a couple of days:
Transcript of AOC sexism speech
U.S. REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ
“I am someone’s daughter, too.” — U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s said in a speech denouncing Republican’s sexist slur.
FULL TRANSCRIPT OF ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ SPEECH | JULY 23, 2020:
“Thank you, Madam Speaker. And I would also like to thank many of my colleagues for the opportunity to not only speak today but for the many members from both sides of the aisle who have reached out to me for support following the incident this week.
“About two days ago, I was walking up the steps of the Capitol when Representative (Ted) Yoho suddenly turned a corner, and he was accompanied by Representative Roger Williams, and accosted me on the steps right here in front of our nation’s Capitol. I was minding my own business, walking up the steps, and Rep. Yoho put his finger in my face: he called me ‘disgusting’, he called me ‘crazy’, he called me ‘out of my mind’, and he called me ‘dangerous’. And then he took a few more steps, and after I had recognized his comments as rude, he walked away and said ‘I’m rude? You’re calling me rude?’
“I took a few steps ahead and I walked inside and cast my vote, because my constituents send me here each and every day to fight for them and to make sure they are able to keep a roof over their head, that they are able to feed their families, and that they are able to carry their lives with dignity. I walked back out and there were reporters in the front of the Capitol, and in front of reporters, Rep. Yoho called me, and I quote, ‘a f*g b.’
“These were the words that Representative Yoho levied against a Congresswoman, the Congresswoman that not only represents New York’s 14th Congressional District, but every congresswoman and every woman in this country, because all of us have had to deal with this in some form, some way, some shape, at some point in our lives.
“And I want to be clear that Representative Yoho’s comments were not deeply hurtful or piercing to me, because I have worked a working-class job. I have waited tables in restaurants, I have ridden the subway, I have walked the streets in New York City. And this kind of language is not new. I have encountered words uttered by Mr. Yoho and men uttering the same words as Mr. Yoho while I was being harassed in restaurants. I have tossed men out of bars that have used language like Mr. Yoho’s, and I have encountered this type of harassment riding the subway in NYC. This is not new. And that is the problem.
“Mr. Yoho was not alone. He was walking shoulder to shoulder with Representative 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 lack of impunity, of accepting of violence and violent language against women, an entire structure of power that supports men, because not only have I been spoken to disrespectfully, particularly by members of the Republican party and elected officials in the Republican Party, not just here, 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. The Governor of Florida, Governor DeSantis, before I even was sworn in, called me a ‘whatever-that-is.’
“Dehumanising 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 de-humanization of others. So while I was not deeply hurt or offended by little comments that were 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, right?
“But then yesterday, Representative Yoho decided to come to the floor of the House of Representatives and make excuses for his behavior. And that I could not let go. I could not allow my nieces, I could not allow the little girls that I go home to, I could not allow victims of verbal abuse and worse, to see that — to see that excuse — and to see our Congress accept it as legitimate, and accept it as an apology, and to accept silence as a form of acceptance. I could not allow that to stand, which is why I am rising today to raise this point of personal privilege.
“And I do not need Representative Yoho to apologize to me. Clearly, he does not want to. Clearly, when given the opportunity, he will not, and I will not stay up late at night waiting for an apology from a man who has no remorse over calling women and using abusive language towards women. But what I do 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 two years younger than Mr. Yoho’s youngest daughter. I am someone’s daughter too. My father, thankfully, is not alive to see how Mr. Yoho treated his daughter. My mother got to see Mr. Yoho’s disrespect on the floor of this House towards me on television. And I am here because I have to show my parents that I am their daughter and that they did not raise me to accept abuse from men.
“Now, what I am here to say is that this harm that Mr. Yoho levied — it tried to levy — against me 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 to say ‘that is not acceptable.’ I do not care what your views are. It does not matter how much I disagree, or how much it incenses me, or how much I feel people are dehumanizing others. I will not do that myself. I will not allow people to change and create hatred in our hearts.
“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 all are bound to do — he tries his best and does apologize. Not to save face, not to win a vote — he apologises genuinely to repair and acknowledge the harm done so that we can all move on.
“Lastly, what I want to express to Mr. Yoho is gratitude. I want to thank him 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. It happened here on the steps of our nation’s Capitol. It happens when individuals who hold the highest office in this land admit — admit — to hurting women and using this language against all of us.
“But once again, I thank my colleagues for joining us today. I will reserve the hour of my time and I will yield to my colleague, Rep. Jayapal of Washington. Thank you.”
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Transcript of Rep. Ayanna Pressley sexism speech
U.S. REP. AYANNA PRESSLEY
U.S. Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts joined Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in condemning our misogynist culture.
“You have a right to show up in the world exactly as you are. And who you are, is always enough.” — Rep. Pressley
PRESS RELEASE: Transcript: Rep. Pressley Condemns Vulgar & Disrespectful Attack on Rep. Ocasio-Cortez
July 23, 2020
As Prepared for Delivery
Madam Speaker, I rise today to condemn in the strongest form the vulgar language and blatant disrespect a colleague directed at Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez.
“As the Congresswoman (AOC) stated, we are not on the House floor today because of just one callous incident. Unfortunately, what brings us to this moment are the structural and cultural conditions — and yes, the very men — that have normalized the marginalization of women and specifically women of color since this nation’s very inception.
Madam Speaker, patriarchy, it is a tool of oppression that’s very much at home in the halls of this powerful institution. Not unlike the hostile working environments and harassment experienced by countless women across the nation who dare to speak truth to power. Today, we rise for every woman that has dealt with these dynamics as a conflated part of their walk in life. Every woman that has repressed the painful rhetoric inflicted on our bodies and our lives.
So suffice it to say that these tired tactics to debase and marginalize are familiar. And yet, still we rise.
Our foremothers–the trailblazing women elected to Congress before us–equipped us to take on a world that was built on contradictions and injustice. Because of them, we have learned how to walk with our heads held high, our legacy defined by the laws we write and the good we do on behalf of those we serve.
I first set foot in this institution at the age of 19. My mother poured into me a sense of reverence for this institution, of the awesome power that it held. I walked through hallways — and still do — flanked by the statues of men that enslaved my ancestors, in a building built by my enslaved ancestors.
Madame Speaker, while there may still be some specters in this hallway set on upholding oppression and misogyny, I know that when my 12 year old daughter walks through these hallways today, she sees my name embossed on a plaque outside the door and lit up on the voting board above this House floor. And she sees Tlaib, and Omar, and Chu, and Jayapal, and Escobar, and Trahan, and Underwood.
Our very existence is proof that progress has been made. And yet although in some instances, we are better than we used to be, we are still not who we can be. And so with my eyes fixed, clear on the challenges of the moment but clearer still on the promise of the future, I speak to our daughters, for they are watching and carefully taking note of how we respond in this moment.
So in this moment, I say to my Cora and all our daughters:
You are powerful. You are limitless. Your contributions to this world are brilliant, needed, and uniquely yours. Your ideas are substantive. Your lived experiences, your kind heart, and your critical eye belong at every single table where decisions are being made. You deserve a life free from fear and filled with dignity and love. You are not defined by your productivity or your chosen work.
We affirm these truths to be self-evident, that women are the backbone of every family, of our communities and we are nation builders. We believe in you fully, without reservation. You have a right to show up in the world exactly as you are. And who you are, is always enough. Cora, you belong everywhere.
And I will close with the words of Reverend William Barber, who aptly points out that we find ourselves as a nation in a moment of reckoning. A reckoning which calls for reconstruction. Old fights, but this is a new day. Let’s build the world that Cora and all girls and women deserve and let us begin with this very institution.
Thank you.