#AOC and the partisan ‘beauty’ double standard

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Bronx/Queens Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez applies makeup in a Vogue magazine video.

The newest feminist weapon to fight the patriarchy? A tube of concealer . . . but only in the hands of the likes of lefty icon Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

AOC is winning raves for bravely demonstrating her beauty routine last month in a Vogue video, one in a series of makeup tutorials from beauty gurus like Kylie Jenner and plus-size supermodel Ashley Graham. One Financial Times columnist, for example, cheered how she makes “no apology for her love of prettifying.”

The congresswoman makes some fair points in the video, which has racked up over 2 million views. She laments that women in politics are supposed to look a certain way and criticizes the “nitpicking about how women present themselves,” even as she explains her beauty routine as empowering.

Our issue is with the double standard: Can you imagine Vogue doing the same with a Republican woman? That same FT piece suggests women of the GOP who show a full face of makeup are a “shellacked parade” eager to please President Trump.

It’s the same tired story. When Sarah Palin sported a stylish wardrobe during the 2008 campaign, she got slammed as an excessive materialist. Melania Trump — a drop-dead-gorgeous model with exquisite taste — doesn’t get to be a fashion icon in the White House. Ivanka Trump, who has also modeled and built a fashion biz, gets to see her company falter thanks to political prejudice after the 2016 election.

Even the media narrative around Trump aide Hope Hicks, who only modeled as a teenager, centered on portraying her as a shallow fame-hound.

But when AOC spends 18 minutes applying her serums and moisturizers, it’s a poignant blow to stereotypes. Give us a break.