Your talents are a blessing to the world, no matter who you are
August 22, 2020 7:54 AM Subscribe
"You are a blessing to the world. Your talents are a blessing to the world, no matter who you are. There is something that you bring, and you need to know that. And that is the best beauty secret of them all." Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Self-Love, Fighting the Power, and Her Signature Red Lip. Full video on Youtube
“If I had to give one piece of advice, it is that the key to beauty is the inside job—the key to beauty is feeling beautiful, and no amount of money or makeup can really compensate for loving yourself,” Ocasio-Cortez says. “If you need a little boost or if you’re feeling particularly challenged that day, look in the mirror and say, ‘I’m the bomb, and I will make the world a better place in my own little pocket because that’s what I’m here to do’… After tossing on a blazer and kissing her French bulldog, Deco, she is off: “This is Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. I hope you feel beautiful however you are. Let’s go seize the day and fight the power.”
“If I had to give one piece of advice, it is that the key to beauty is the inside job—the key to beauty is feeling beautiful, and no amount of money or makeup can really compensate for loving yourself,” Ocasio-Cortez says. “If you need a little boost or if you’re feeling particularly challenged that day, look in the mirror and say, ‘I’m the bomb, and I will make the world a better place in my own little pocket because that’s what I’m here to do’… After tossing on a blazer and kissing her French bulldog, Deco, she is off: “This is Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. I hope you feel beautiful however you are. Let’s go seize the day and fight the power.”
#47
Hey now, let us keep her in NY for a little while at least!
In all seriousness, my ideal world has her in Congress for a solid decade before any presidential run, working to build up the infrastructure a progressive president would need to really transform this country. Dems have spent decades failing to invest in the downticket, and AOC is a perfect example of why that was a huge mistake. There’s more to the federal government than the presidency.
posted by showbiz_liz at 9:14 AM on August 22, 2020 [60 favorites]
Hey now, let us keep her in NY for a little while at least!
In all seriousness, my ideal world has her in Congress for a solid decade before any presidential run, working to build up the infrastructure a progressive president would need to really transform this country. Dems have spent decades failing to invest in the downticket, and AOC is a perfect example of why that was a huge mistake. There’s more to the federal government than the presidency.
posted by showbiz_liz at 9:14 AM on August 22, 2020 [60 favorites]
This is SO GREAT.
But the ritual of doing something nice for yourself? The encouragement to remind yourself that you have something unique and essential to give, and "your talents are a blessing to the world"? That is so wonderful, so important, something I need to hear, and something I know some other people need to hear even more than I do.
What I'd like most for AOC's career is that she gets to do exactly what she wants, when she wants, including periods of not working at all if she wants; but my second choice would be for her to alternate between the White House and Congress for the rest of her life. #47; then the House again; then #49; then the Senate; White House, Congress, White House, Senate, and then hey, maybe Supreme Court if she wants to.
I love Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez so much.
Thank you so much for sharing this, cynical pinnacle! (... what's the opposite of eponysterical?)
posted by kristi at 9:50 AM on August 22, 2020 [18 favorites]
... it’s quite a radical act—and it’s almost like a mini protest—to love yourself in a society that’s always telling you you’re not the right weight, you’re not the right color, you’re not the right, you know, whatever it is,” she says. “When you stand up and say, ‘You know what? You don’t make that decision. I make that decision,’ it’s very powerful. But that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun.I have never liked makeup, and I've been lucky enough to work for myself most of my life, and find jobs where I never had to wear makeup, so the makeup routine per se isn't something I'd do for myself.
But the ritual of doing something nice for yourself? The encouragement to remind yourself that you have something unique and essential to give, and "your talents are a blessing to the world"? That is so wonderful, so important, something I need to hear, and something I know some other people need to hear even more than I do.
What I'd like most for AOC's career is that she gets to do exactly what she wants, when she wants, including periods of not working at all if she wants; but my second choice would be for her to alternate between the White House and Congress for the rest of her life. #47; then the House again; then #49; then the Senate; White House, Congress, White House, Senate, and then hey, maybe Supreme Court if she wants to.
I love Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez so much.
Thank you so much for sharing this, cynical pinnacle! (... what's the opposite of eponysterical?)
posted by kristi at 9:50 AM on August 22, 2020 [18 favorites]
I want her in the Senate next after she takes Schumer’s seat, then Majority Leader, then President.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 10:14 AM on August 22, 2020 [6 favorites]
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 10:14 AM on August 22, 2020 [6 favorites]
there's not enough time left. if she has to go through the full cursus honorum we'll be waist-deep in hot seawater before she's done.
posted by Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon at 10:25 AM on August 22, 2020 [9 favorites]
posted by Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon at 10:25 AM on August 22, 2020 [9 favorites]
Thank you, kristi! Glad you enjoyed the video as much as I did.
As a fellow person who does not like makeup, the words she said were powerful. Watching her put on makeup while she said those words was as delightful as watching an artisan taking pleasure in their craft.
posted by cynical pinnacle at 10:29 AM on August 22, 2020 [4 favorites]
As a fellow person who does not like makeup, the words she said were powerful. Watching her put on makeup while she said those words was as delightful as watching an artisan taking pleasure in their craft.
posted by cynical pinnacle at 10:29 AM on August 22, 2020 [4 favorites]
My word, she is just so great - so smart and thoughtful and insightful and funny. I’m glad she’s in Congress.
The femme beauty thing is such a shitty double edged sword. If you participate in and enjoy beauty products you are, as she says, considered frivolous and less serious. But HEAVEN FORFEND you should actually abstain from beauty products, because then you are slovenly and lazy and still can’t be taken seriously. I stopped wearing makeup because I decided I didn’t feel like spending three minutes on it in the morning - I wasn’t enjoying those three minutes. I can’t imagine having to spend 30+ minutes every single day. So exhausting. Obviously it’s a very different calculus for people who love putting on makeup, but I’m sure even they have days when they wish they could just skip it, but if they did, everyone they saw that day would tell them how tired they look and ask what’s wrong.
posted by obfuscation at 11:31 AM on August 22, 2020 [9 favorites]
The femme beauty thing is such a shitty double edged sword. If you participate in and enjoy beauty products you are, as she says, considered frivolous and less serious. But HEAVEN FORFEND you should actually abstain from beauty products, because then you are slovenly and lazy and still can’t be taken seriously. I stopped wearing makeup because I decided I didn’t feel like spending three minutes on it in the morning - I wasn’t enjoying those three minutes. I can’t imagine having to spend 30+ minutes every single day. So exhausting. Obviously it’s a very different calculus for people who love putting on makeup, but I’m sure even they have days when they wish they could just skip it, but if they did, everyone they saw that day would tell them how tired they look and ask what’s wrong.
posted by obfuscation at 11:31 AM on August 22, 2020 [9 favorites]
I watched this whole thing, she is transformative, and hopefully a wonderful catalyst for others to shine. Great stuff!
posted by Oyéah at 1:33 PM on August 22, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Oyéah at 1:33 PM on August 22, 2020 [1 favorite]
Mod note: Comment and a few replies removed.
posted by cortex (staff) at 3:38 PM on August 22, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by cortex (staff) at 3:38 PM on August 22, 2020 [4 favorites]
I'm sort of hoping the AOC identity is actually a front for a benign superintelligence that will eventually lead humanity out of its fitful adolescence and onto a path of sustainable adult species-hood.
It's starting to look like the simplest explanation, honestly.
posted by Western Infidels at 5:03 PM on August 22, 2020 [6 favorites]
It's starting to look like the simplest explanation, honestly.
posted by Western Infidels at 5:03 PM on August 22, 2020 [6 favorites]
me: the left needs to drop its focus on charismatic once-in-a-generation leaders and acknowledge that change comes from popular movement-building rather than individual personalities
also me: aoc is the one we must protect her at all costs
posted by Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon at 7:21 AM on August 23, 2020 [18 favorites]
also me: aoc is the one we must protect her at all costs
posted by Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon at 7:21 AM on August 23, 2020 [18 favorites]
I have a GIANT amount of envy for her. We share a name, and the same values and goals. If I could find ANYTHING to gripe about it would make this a lot easier. I'm gonna go moisturize and study for law school now.
posted by lextex at 8:45 AM on August 23, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by lextex at 8:45 AM on August 23, 2020 [3 favorites]
I'm sort of hoping the AOC identity is actually a front for a benign superintelligence that will eventually lead humanity out of its fitful adolescence and onto a path of sustainable adult species-hood.
*whispers* we already have this and it's called "please just listen to brown people more, thank you"
posted by Maaik at 11:23 AM on August 23, 2020 [7 favorites]
*whispers* we already have this and it's called "please just listen to brown people more, thank you"
posted by Maaik at 11:23 AM on August 23, 2020 [7 favorites]
I love her message. And I cringe. I hope AOC uses at least some of her time in the spotlight to influence FDA regulations of the cosmetics and personal care industry and bring the US up to EU standards. Lead and cadmium ought not be applied to the same orifice used for eating, drinking, breathing, etc..
Asbestos and phthalates do not belong on our largest (permeable) organ. LA Times editorial with links to FDA reports, CA bill AB-495.
posted by FairWitness at 7:34 AM on August 24, 2020 [1 favorite]
Asbestos and phthalates do not belong on our largest (permeable) organ. LA Times editorial with links to FDA reports, CA bill AB-495.
posted by FairWitness at 7:34 AM on August 24, 2020 [1 favorite]
What a great video! I really appreciated how the Congresswoman tied so many things together -- such as the pink tax, the way personal presentation can be armor and energy, her own experiences before and during Congress, and the idea of accentuating rather than shape-shifting. And I really appreciated how she addressed people who enjoy wearing makeup AND people who don't -- demonstrating that it is fine to enjoy it and wear it, and discussing the unfairness in any discrimination against femmes & women who don't wear makeup.
lextex: in case it helps: a few times she very mildly messed up her grammar.
I've started wearing some lip gloss before videocalls, on the theory that people who use lip-reading as part of how they understand voice conversations could use some more contrast to help them make out what I'm saying. It was nice to see the Congresswoman doing something that I've also recently done. (Start with the safe spots, slowly work outwards.)
When she got out the eyelash crimper, I was taken back to my high school days -- I think the first time I saw one of those was seeing a Latina friend in the high school bathroom use one. I always get a bit anxious about the idea of doing anything near my eyes so it was pretty memorable!
(I nearly wrote "eyebrow crimper" which sounds much more painful.)
posted by brainwane at 8:59 AM on August 24, 2020
lextex: in case it helps: a few times she very mildly messed up her grammar.
I've started wearing some lip gloss before videocalls, on the theory that people who use lip-reading as part of how they understand voice conversations could use some more contrast to help them make out what I'm saying. It was nice to see the Congresswoman doing something that I've also recently done. (Start with the safe spots, slowly work outwards.)
When she got out the eyelash crimper, I was taken back to my high school days -- I think the first time I saw one of those was seeing a Latina friend in the high school bathroom use one. I always get a bit anxious about the idea of doing anything near my eyes so it was pretty memorable!
(I nearly wrote "eyebrow crimper" which sounds much more painful.)
posted by brainwane at 8:59 AM on August 24, 2020
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