UPDATE:
Had last Tuesday’s stunning and decisive primary win by New York’s Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’ occurred just a couple of weeks earlier, I am sure she would have been included in InStyle’s list of “The Badass 50” women (below).
But in the short five days since her victory, Ocasio-Cortez has made many other lists and her influence has already been felt in many, sometimes surprising ways – from seemingly frivolous to more significant and profound ways.
Under the former category one might note that the distinctive red lipstick Ocasio-Cortez wore during her campaign and on her election victory night — Stila’s “Stay All Day” liquid lipstick, shade “Besos” (kisses)–- has since sold out on multiple websites.
On the other hand, Ocasio-Cortez is inspiring thousands of young political activists and probably millions of Millennials who one day soon will make up the largest voting group in our country with tremendous political and social consequences.
Ocasio-Cortez proudly calls her approach to policy and governing “Democratic socialism” and guess what — another after effect of Ocasio-Cortez’ victory – after she won her New York primary, “Democratic Socialism” became “the most searched term on Merriam-Webster’s website.”
Many Democrats, especially the older ones, and some liberals have objections to the “socialist” part of the Democratic Socialists of America’s name and constitution, especially the “popular control of resources and production,” part.
Michelle Goldberg at the New York Times, however, suggests that Democrats such as Ocasio-Cortez should be welcomed. “It needs their youth and zeal and willingness to do the work of rebuilding the party as a neighborhood institution. And they’re coming, whether the party’s leadership likes it or not,” she says.
We will be hearing much more about “badass women” such as Ocasio-Cortez in the next few months and years, and we’ll be hearing much more about Democratic socialism.
While unintentionally, I am sure, Goldberg drops “Democratic” from her title, “The Millennial Socialists Are Coming,” you can bet that Republicans will focus like a laser beam on that word — socialist — making it a slur akin to Communism, led by the “slurrist”-in-chief who for now settles for just noting that the young Democrat socialist has “lots of energy.”
Original Post:
Long before the crystal ball dropped in Times Square on December 31, many were predicting that 2018 would be “The Year of the Woman,” some calling it “The Trump Effect.”
In a 2017 year-end piece at CNN.com, Marianne Schnall attributed this prediction squarely to Trump’s rise to power and a year that “saw an escalation of the Republican Party’s attacks on women, including efforts to defund Planned Parenthood, undermine women’s legal and reproductive rights and slash essential health benefits.”
Schnall added, “There were also threats to issues women care about: protections for children, civil rights and the environment, just to name a few. And then came the explosive epidemic of reports of sexual harassment and assault, exposing just how pervasive this problem is for women in all sectors of society.”
The first six months of 2018 have not seen a letup in “threats to issues women care about,” the most recent the despicable separation of children from their parents at the southern border.
Not coincidentally, the first six months of 2018 have also seen scores of media reports reiterating the same powerful phenomenon “Record number of women running for office” at local, state and national levels — and winning.
Witness last night’s “shocking upset” where a 28-year-old woman who never held elective office — the daughter of a Puerto Rican mother and a Bronx-born father — decisively beat Representative Joseph Crowley, “a 19-year incumbent and Queens political stalwart who had not faced a primary challenger in 14 years.”
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’ stunning win is not an isolated instance, “Women are running and winning in record numbers.”
Kelly Grace Gibson, in a piece with that title, points out:
…more than 50 women filed to run for Senate this cycle, more than 450 for the House, 60 women for governor, 52 for lieutenant governor, and plenty more in down-ballot races…
Going back to the 2018 cycle’s first big primary day on May 8, women reigned supreme in North Carolina, Indiana, West Virginia and Ohio. More than 60% of female candidates won their House primary races, meaning women will make up one-third of House nominees from these states…
Since then, we’ve seen other historic victories for women: Stacey Abrams in Georgia, Chrissy Houlahan in Pennsylvania, Amy McGrath in Kentucky, Lupe Valdez in Texas … the list goes on and on.
I have written about one of these women who has already chalked up one victory, retired Marine Corps combat fighter pilot Amy McGrath, here and here.
One could genially call McGrath a “badass” and she would perfectly fit in the list of “The Badass 50,” a list “celebrating those [women] who are brave, brilliant, and, most important, consistent” published by InStyle this week.
InStyle’s list does not include McGrath, but the “badass” label was inspired by another military woman, U.S. Army captain Jennifer Peace who “joined the military when she was 19 and has served our country for 13 years. She is a married mother of three and has participated in every war of her generation.” InStyle published the article on Peace after Trump announced a ban on transgender people in the military.
Read the accomplishments of the 50 Badass Women here and pick your own favorites.
Mine are:
Tammy Duckworth: The veteran and Illinois senator who lost both her legs in the Iraq War is no stranger to defying all odds and knocking down barriers for women…
Tammie Jo Shults: A former Navy fighter pilot, the Southwest Airlines captain was hailed as a national hero in April when she safely landed a damaged aircraft in Philadelphia, saving the lives of 148 people…
Christiane Amanpour: The British-born journalist is one of the most well-known and respected international correspondents in the world. Amanpour has ventured into the heart of global trouble spots, from war-torn Afghanistan to Hurricane Katrina-devastated New Orleans..
Madeleine Albright: It would be enough that this immigrant from the former Czechoslovakia was the first woman to become the U.S. secretary of state…But at 81, this businesswoman and professor remains an unwavering defender of our country’s values…
Kamala Harris: California’s former attorney general and current junior senator is one of the leading voices on the Hill, speaking out on immigration and environmental issues. Last year she introduced a bill to make revenge porn a federal crime, prompting Ellen DeGeneres to declare her “possibly your next president of the United States.”…
Ruth Bader Ginsburg: The Supreme Court associate justice has championed gender equality and women’s rights throughout her career, beginning by launching the Women’s Rights Project for the ACLU in the 1970s…
Maura Healey: Since President Donald Trump’s election, the Massachusetts attorney general has legally challenged the administration more than two dozen times, diligently protecting her community against policies that could limit civil and immigration rights, access to health care, environmental safeguards, and more…
Lead image: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
