’Even if you’re a socialist politician, there’s still money to be made by companies that want to take advantage of who you are.’
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will take up her superhero shield in an upcoming comic-book anthology — the latest piece of art or merchandise inspired by the Twitter-savvy TWTR, +0.76% New York Democrat.
Two covers released this week bear illustrations of Ocasio-Cortez in a power stance — dressed alternately in her white pantsuit and in warrior attire — claiming victory over a red elephant. A blue donkey surveys the scene with uncertainty. While AOC may not have reached Notorious RBG-level ubiquity, her presence is pervasive in plenty of artwork, t-shirts, mugs, phone cases, celebrity votive candles, tote bags and other items sold through online marketplaces. A search for her name, for instance, yields 670 results on Redbubble, 360 results on Zazzle and 248 results on Etsy.
“They’re really meant to be inspiring,” she added. “People are using them like a shrine, almost, of hope and something new.” The congresswoman has in some ways come to symbolize a new generation of political leadership, said Kelly Dittmar, a scholar at the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University. “That just yields all sorts of support,” she said. “So it’s not surprising that would also yield merchandising in the same way that we’ve seen for other progressive women who have broad support, like Ruth Bader Ginsburg or Maxine Waters [a Democrat from California].
For artists looking for exposure, a bump from AOC — who often shares fan art with her 2.5 million Instagram followers and tags its creators — can be a boon. “We live in a beautiful capitalist society,” Newman said. “Even if you’re a socialist politician, there’s still money to be made by companies that want to take advantage of who you are and what you’re doing and what you’re speaking about, and run with it.
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