Sexism has been around forever and it happens everywhere. From small workplaces to social media to politics, it’s no secret that it happens. Many women tend to experience sexism from an early age, whether they know it or not. 

I remember being told in third grade that I did push-ups “the girl way.” We had to do different exercises to test our physical abilities such as pacing and doing long jumps. When it was time for my class to do push-ups, our teacher told us we could do it any way we wanted. My friends and I quickly took advantage of that and did knee push-ups since we were tired, but as we were doing them, a boy in my class laughed, then proceeded to exclaim, “You guys do push-ups like girls. Do them like us (referring to the boys), the right way.” My teacher was quick to respond by correcting the boy, saying knee push-ups were a form of push-ups and that it had no relation to girls. Obviously, that didn’t impact me much since I didn’t really understand, but at the time I could imagine how weak I felt when he said I did push-ups “like a girl” since I wasn’t good at “regular” push-ups. 

My example was a form of sexism, as it degraded my ability in relation to being a female. However, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, also known as AOC, has dealt with sexists within her work environment and was not afraid to correct and call them out. I personally admire her and the power she holds when fighting for women and different rights. When talking about sexism during an interview with Vogue, AOC states, “‘This issue is not about one incident. It is cultural.” 

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez won the Democratic Party’s primary election for New York’s 14th congressional district on June 26, 2018 against a 10-term incumbent Democratic Caucus Chair, Joe Crowley. She was officially sworn into Congress on January 3, 2019 and has proposed the Green New Deal, participated in climate change protests, called out Trump for tax and bank fraud, called out billionaires such as the CEO of Facebook, worked to help many marginalized communities within her district, and so much more.

In July of this year, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was standing on the steps of the U.S. Capitol when Florida representative Ted Yoho went off and bashed her publicly. He was enraged by AOC’s comments connecting crime and poverty together. In a place where reporters could witness this incident, Yoho believed it was a good idea to put his finger in her face and scream at her, calling her “crazy” and “disgusting.” She obviously was shocked, terrified, and very unnerved by this situation. Yoho was towering over her and she felt as if she was in danger. Because she felt hurt and disgusted by his behavior, she didn’t hesitate to tell him he was being rude, then like an unbothered queen, walked her way into the Capitol to vote.  While Yoho was on his way down the steps, he called her a “fucking bitch.” Since then, a reporter who saw this happen was able to expose Representative Yoho to the world and explain the encounter. 

Representative Ted Yoho definitely used sexist and harsh language towards Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Since the incident, she “publicly condemned the abuse faced by women in Congress in a viral speech on the House Floor” (Time’s Up). AOC is one of many, many women in politics to have received backlash from men who discount their qualifications as congresswomen. From when a Fox News contributor said AOC ‘photographs well’ but questioned whether she ‘matters’

to the time when Televangelist Pat Robertson tried to dismiss Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez because she used to be a bartender and said she had “no particular education to speak of,” congresswoman AOC has been through many incidents of male politicians degrading her abilities and qualifications for the position. She has endured sexism throughout her career and continues to empower women everywhere by standing up for herself.