"A good girl should never ask for anything, so make me notorious."
Ginsburg, known by the initials RBG and the nickname "NotoriousRBG", is the highest authority in the U.S. judiciary, a practitioner and promoter of the women's affirmative movement, and she has spent her life serving the disadvantaged. Groups fight for rights.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the second woman to be nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court after Sandra Day O'Connor.
Countless young people have made her the object of their obsession, emblazoning her face on T-shirts and mugs. But in this era when law schools, the legal profession, and the bench are no longer short of women, why is Ginsburg so irreplaceable?
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Born in 1933, Ginsburg was growing up when "being a beautiful and virtuous housewife" was almost the only option for American women. But fortunately, Ginsburg had an enlightened mother who taught her from an early age to become a well-educated woman with self-independent values.
"It's great if you can meet Prince Charming and spend the rest of your life together, but you have to learn to live independently."
In his youth, Ginsburg was admitted to Cornell Law School with honors. With a 4:1 male-to-female ratio at Cornell, not only is there a small number of female students, but there is a general perception of female students by students and teachers.
During class, some professors deliberately prevent girls from answering questions because they think they don't understand the content at all. Even the dean at that time specially invited the female freshmen at that level to have a dinner party and asked them what qualifications they had to occupy a position that could have been reserved for boys.
"Because you are a woman", this sentence has always embarrassed Ruth. Before he really stepped into society, Ginsburg was already feeling the pressure of gender inequality.
She later graduated from Cornell University with the first place in her class and was admitted to Harvard Law School. Harvard Law School did not allow women to apply at all until the 1950s, and admitted only nine women to her class of more than 500 freshmen.
In the days that followed, Ginsburg never let up. She transferred from Harvard to Columbia Law School with honors, and still graduated first in her class.
Her mother taught her since childhood and gave her infinite strength, and she is also practicing her mother's admonitions throughout her life: "become a lady" and "remain independent".
To be a lady is not to waste your time with anger; to be independent is to have independent ability and independent thinking at all times.
This independent, competitive and hard-working character has been firmly engraved in Ginsburg's body and has accompanied her throughout her life, becoming the inner support for her to fight for the rights and interests of herself and others.
2. Cases
"Men are the masters of the family", "Men can decide whether a woman can have an abortion", "Only men can enjoy housing allowances". In those days, judges and jurors were also men, and it was a dream to expect them to deliver fair sentences for women.
Ginsburg understood from the beginning that mutual understanding between people is not innate, and her mission is to help these arrogant men understand the real situation of women.
After becoming a Supreme Court justice, Ginsburg handled many cases related to women's rights, such as "United States v. Virginia" in 1996. At the time, the Virginia Military Institute refused to admit women, believing that women could not complete the difficult military training.
Ginsburg led the trial, acknowledging that there are objective biological differences between men and women, and that the Virginia Military Institute's educational methods do not, in her opinion, work for most women. However, she stressed that for women with above-average talents and aptitudes, the general performance of the group should not obliterate the opportunities of outstanding individuals.
She wrote in her opinion piece that women should not be denied equal opportunities to work tirelessly and contribute to society based on their own talents simply because of their gender.
In an era when companies can legally dismiss women because of pregnancy, and women’s loans must be signed by their husbands, Ginsburg personally promoted women’s reproductive autonomy, voting rights, and equal pay for equal work. Women are liberated from their male appendage status.
Ginsburg laid out a detailed, step-by-step plan for the feminist movement's transformative goals, arguing that men and women should work side by side.
In 1975, Ruth took on a case of discrimination against men, a widower vs. Social Security Administration case.
The plaintiff, Stephen, was a widower and wanted to receive child-raising benefits that only single mothers used to get because he had to raise his infant son by himself, but the Social Security Administration refused him on the grounds that he was a male.
Ginsburg's case for gender discrimination in society harms not only women but men as well, further providing precedent for repealing sexist statutes.
In 2007, an abortion case saw Ginsburg address his vehement dissent publicly for the first time. Because the case involves the "Partial Birth Abortion Prohibition Act", Ginsburg said that abortion rights belong to women, "they revolve around women's autonomy, the hope that women can determine their own life course, and the enjoyment of equal citizenship status. ".
All the injustices were broken by Ginsburg's debate. People suddenly discovered that there was such a woman on the Supreme Court who had made such an important contribution to advancing gender equality for a long time, she had won fair pay, she had won women's right to abortion, she had opened the University of Virginia On the first day, we won the first female student in history.
Throughout the history of the United States, every amendment added has marked a major event in American history.
The reversal of these independent cases not only changed the fate of individuals, but also promoted the progress of the legal system and society of the entire country. She said sometimes feeling like a kindergarten teacher, the white men from the privileged class simply don't realize that inequality exists for women because it's so commonplace and deep in the bone, and she's going to say it over and over again until They can finally see it.
Ginsburg did not particularly emphasize the concept of "feminism". What she called for was equality. Men and women should not oppose each other, but should cooperate. She is not just a voice for women, but for the rights of all vulnerable groups. Therefore, she will also fight for pensions for men to raise children, officiate weddings for gay groups, and fight for the rights of religious believers
"Eliminate discrimination and safeguard human rights." Discrimination not only occurs in gender, but also in race and sexual orientation.
Rights should apply to everyone.
In the great fight for the rights of women and the disadvantaged, as well as Ginsburg's outstanding performance in the U.S. Supreme Court's repeated defense of women's rights, she gradually received more attention and was eventually nominated by President Carter for the District of Columbia. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge.
3. Love
When Ginsburg was 17, she met her Prince Charming, Martin, at Cornell University. Martin was chosen because "he is the only man who cares more about my mind than my body". Ginsburg was drawn to Martin's humor, who was outgoing, humble, and laughing, while she was taciturn and serious, and the two complemented each other.
After their marriage, the two entered Harvard Law School to continue their studies. While studying at Harvard, her husband Martin was diagnosed with testicular cancer, and Ginsburg could only continue her studies while taking care of her ailing husband and young daughter.
She can only open the book and study every day when the child is asleep. Sometimes she can only sleep for two hours a day. She insisted on this life for a year, and completed all the courses of Harvard Law School with honors, with a first-level grade. Graduate with honors. "These two parts of my life make the other more interesting," she said.
Martin shared the responsibility of raising children in the family, and defended Ginsburg many times in public. In order to support her, Martin quit his job in New York, moved to Washington, and became a "home cook". At that time, Martin was recognized as the best tax lawyer in New York.
In 1993, Ginsburg was 60 years old, and Clinton felt she was too old for the post of justice.
Martin used all his contacts to persuade Clinton to meet her. As a result, Clinton met Ginsburg, chatted for only 15 minutes, and decided to nominate her for justice.
"I think of all the things I do, the most important thing is to help my wife get where she is now." In the end, he witnessed Ginsburg take the seat of justice from the court audience behind her.
Later, when Martin died, he wrote to his wife: "The greatest achievement of my life is to allow you to be what you are now."
Ginsburg's success is inseparable from the efforts of an individual scholar and a choice to conform to the social trend of thought. It is also inseparable from her husband's understanding and respect for her in her heart, her support for her career in action, and her spiritual support. Sincere protection.
His love for her does not come from the "guidance" and "protection" of the gender advantage that a man gives to a woman due to the social environment in which he lives, but from the mutual support of two people who are evenly matched and equal in spirit with achievements.
4. Independent
In 1970, Ginsburg co-founded Feminist Legal Report, the first legal journal in the United States to focus on women's rights. She taught at Columbia University from 1972 to 1980, became a female professor, and wrote the first law school case book on sexism.
From being excluded from the workplace and the court system for gender reasons, to the first tenure-track female professor in Columbia Law School history, to leading the ACLU Women’s Rights Program to end the discrimination against women in many workplaces and fields of law. Gender discrimination eventually became the second female justice in American history and the idol of thousands of young people. Ginsburg's accomplishments are fully worthy of her praise from the media and liberal parties.
In an age when American society was full of sexism, she climbed to the top of the pyramid with her personal struggle.
Ginsburg believes that "women should have a place in all places where decisions are made." At one point, many feminists believed that women’s leadership was fundamentally different from men’s, but Ginsberg sees a big problem with this exaggeration of the gender differences:
This view argues that in order not to be corrupted by patriarchal views, women must avoid internalizing "traditional" values, and that women should not take advantage of opportunities if the system that gives them is inherently illegitimate.
But Ginsburg used the position he had achieved to represent those oppressed groups and lead their efforts to change the social system.
Strive for the legitimate rights and interests of marginalized minorities and made outstanding contributions to the American affirmative action movement. In any of her viewpoints, she does not demand too much, but strives for the rights and interests that everyone and every group should have. Every word she said was the basic starting point of following the law.
Although her various work is limited to the United States, her spirit has deeply inspired the left-wing progressive forces around the world, leaving a large amount of spiritual wealth for future generations.
Ginsburg was diagnosed with colon cancer in 1999, and during surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, she never missed a day from work. In 2009, Ginsburg was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer again, and she did not miss a single trial during her treatment.
The media took some clips of her in the gym for rehab. She cutely wears a super diva T-shirt, and can even do 20 push-ups swayingly.
Sickness and aging cannot hinder her persistence in work and life. It also makes us believe that she has always been a fighter and will do everything in her power to protect the values she believes in.
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