Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez talks being a woman in politics & the next four years

For her recent Vanity Fair feature, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez spoke about being a young woman in politics and what her next four years might look like.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has quickly become one of the most well-known women in politics, despite being one of the youngest. In fact, she graced the cover of Vanity Fair this week, chatting with the magazine about what it’s been like to be the youngest woman ever elected to Congress, as well as what her next four years could look like.

With her progressive views and unapologetic way of defending the people she represents, the 31-year-old congresswoman has quickly become a feminist icon. Of course, it hasn’t all been easy — for every woman who looks up to and supports her, it seems there’s someone waiting to tear her down. (Just look at the backlash she received for wearing expensive clothes for the Vanity Fair cover.)

That comes with the territory of being a woman in politics, though, something that’s evident even in the way AOC is treated by her male colleagues in the Capitol. Earlier this year, Rep. Ted Yoho from Florida even went as far as to call her derogatory names on the Capitol steps, showcasing a lack of respect that immediately sparked criticism.

Of course, Yoho isn’t the only one to have a visceral reaction to AOC, something the congresswoman touched upon during the interview. She pointed out that the Democratic “boogeyman” always happens to be a woman — and went on to give examples of who held the role before her.

“It’s very dehumanizing in both ways, strangely, both the negative and the positive,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “It’s not an accident that, every cycle, the boogeyman of the Democrats is a woman. A couple of cycles ago, it was Pelosi. Then it was Hillary, and now it’s me.”

And although AOC often seems unshaken by the vehemence sent her way, she admitted that the constant barrage of threats has led her to doubt herself at times. Thankfully, her “Squad” — which consists of AOC herself, along with Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts — has helped her get through the hard times.

“There have been many times, especially in the first six months, where I felt like I couldn’t do this, like I didn’t know if I was going to be able to run for reelection,” she explained. “There was a time where the volume of threats had gotten so high that I didn’t even know if I was going to live to my next term. Their sisterhood and their friendship, it’s not some political alliance. It’s a very deep, unconditional human bond.”

And clearly, that bond has helped enough that AOC is currently running for reelection — this time against ex-cop John Cummings. She’s been campaigning hard to remain in the House — but when asked about the future, she wasn’t entirely sure she’d want to stay there forever. That said, AOC is equally as hesitant to embrace the calls for her to run for president. Of the future, she said:

"“I don’t know if I’m really going to be staying in the House forever, or if I do stay in the House, what that would look like. I don’t see myself really staying where I’m at for the rest of my life. I don’t want to aspire to a quote-unquote higher position just for the sake of that title or just for the sake of having a different or higher position. I truly make an assessment to see if I can be more effective. And so, you know, I don’t know if I could necessarily be more effective in an administration, but, for me that’s always what the question comes down to.”"

“I don’t want to be a savior, I want to be a mirror,” Ocasio-Cortez added.

Although she’s not 100-percent clear on her own future in politics, however, AOC did seem certain about one thing during her interview: The upcoming presidential election will have consequences for year’s to come, and she’s unsure what will come of another term for President Trump.

“This is not about a decision between two candidates,” she explained. “It’s about a decision between two countries.”

And for that reason, she’s been urging voters to get out there and make their voices heard. In fact, she recently outlined steps voters can take during and before the election. With any luck, young voters are listening.

To read the entirety of Vanity Fair‘s feature about the congresswoman, click here.

Have you read AOC’s Vanity Fair feature? What did you think?