Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, AOC, is a Democratic U.S. representative for New York’s 14th congressional district. Serving since 2019, Ocasio-Cortez has been a fierce supporter of abortion rights, climate justice, and social, racial and economic justice.

Eric Swalwell and the Persistent Problem of Silent Complicity

PUBLISHED 4/20/2026 by

The Eric Swalwell scandal is an altogether familiar and tired exercise: When allegations surface against a powerful man, the people around him scramble to distance themselves, downplay what they knew, or deny any knowledge at all. And yet, time and again, these cases are described as “open secrets.”

The real question is not just what he did, but what the people around him saw, heard and chose not to act on.

This is where the conversation needs to shift. For decades, sexual assault prevention educators have argued that we need to move beyond the perpetrator-victim binary and focus on the role of bystanders: What could colleagues have done? What kept them from speaking up?

The pressure to be “one of the guys,” to not rock the boat, to protect friendships or careers, remains enormously powerful. If we are serious about preventing abuse, institutions like Congress need to do more than react after the fact. They need to equip people, especially men, with the tools, the permission and the expectation to intervene before harm escalates.

A Government That Chooses War Over Childcare

PUBLISHED 4/10/2026 by

President Donald Trump made his priorities unmistakable when he dismissed federal support for childcare, telling his budget director: “Don’t send any money for daycare. … We’re fighting wars.” In choosing to fund a costly, unpopular war in Iran over investing in families, the administration is treating childcare as optional—something states should handle alone—even as costs soar beyond what most households can afford.

That decision comes amid a deepening affordability crisis. Childcare now routinely exceeds $1,000 a month per child, and by the government’s own benchmark, true affordability would require families to earn close to $400,000 a year.

While federal dollars have historically helped states provide care, the administration is pulling back—and even targeting states that are trying to expand access. The result is a widening gap between what families need and what the government is willing to support.

‘The Feminist Agenda Is Wildly Popular’: Celinda Lake on the Political Power of Feminist Voters

PUBLISHED 7/11/2025 by

Pollster and leading Democratic strategist Celinda Lake has been examining the data on women and feminist voters for decades. I talked to her about what Americans really want. (Spoiler alert: It’s not Project 2025.)

“People think that feminism is a dirty word. In fact, it’s a very strong word. Particularly for progressives and Democrats—feminism is highly correlated with voting for Democrats. Half of Independents consider themselves feminists; when you describe it, a third of Republicans and 83 percent of Democrats do. Our voters consider themselves feminists. It is a very quiet movement out there that is really underestimated. …

“Feminist issues, however we define them, are doing quite well. What we don’t have is we don’t have enough of them out front. We don’t have enough leaders taking them on.”

My Sexts Were Leaked in High School. I Learned the Hard Way How Sexuality Is Weaponized to Silence Women.

PUBLISHED 5/30/2024 by

Each instance of gendered and sexualized narratives against high-profile women—and even ordinary people, including students like myself—serves as a warning to thousands of other women and those close to us. Witnessing these attacks often leads them to reconsider their own participation in public discourse.

The message is clear: Speak out, and your sexuality will be weaponized against you.

‘Where Is Nancy?’: How Threats Against Women in Power Are Tied to Threats Against Democracy

PUBLISHED 11/1/2022 by and

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is second in line to the presidency, has long been the focus of negative political ads and campaign rhetoric. But the attacks have become more layered with threats of violence and misogyny, and social media has allowed them to spread more easily.

“It’s about people saying, ‘We want to keep women from getting to a position of power.’ And in the long term, it will have a deeply chilling effect.”

Keeping Score: ‘The Dominoes Have Started to Fall, and They Won’t Just Stop at One’

PUBLISHED 7/26/2022 by

In every issue of Ms., we track research on our progress in the fight for equality, catalogue can’t-miss quotes from feminist voices and keep tabs on the feminist movement’s many milestones. We’re Keeping Score online, too—in in this biweekly round-up.

This week: Activists fear the Supreme Court will come after same-sex and interracial marriage next; House passes bill protecting same-sex marriage, requests testimony from major gun manufacturers; Biden administration challenges states on enforcement of abortion bans; women participate in the Tour de France after 33 years; and more.