From timid to Notorious: the life and legacy of RBG

Ruth Bader Ginsburg leaves behind a legacy, having dedicated a lifetime to passionately advocating for gender equality, LGBTQ+ and disability rights. 

Art by Keli Sheng

On September 18, Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the second woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, passed away at the age of 87. Her death came as a shock to many. Since the announcement of her passing, tributes have been flooding in, hailing her as a “warrior for gender equality”. Former President Bill Clinton wrote that the U.S. had “lost one of the most extraordinary Justices to ever serve on the Supreme Court”, having appointed her himself back in 1993. In a statement, President Trump referred to her as a “brilliant mind”. Many tributes have referenced Ginsburg’s plethora of nicknames, from “The Notorious RBG” to the endearing nickname coined by her mother, “Kiki”.

Following her death, she has been frequently likened to former Associate Justice Thurgood Marshall, the first African American Justice on the Supreme Court. Marshall’s work notably culminated in the desegregation of American public schools and he had contributed significantly to advances in areas of the law other than civil rights, such as criminal procedure and labour rights. Justice Ginsburg had written several noteworthy majority opinions, such as “United States v. Virginia” (1996) and “Olmstead v. L.C.” (1999), which had a hand in advancing gender equality and disability rights causes. Few have been able to achieve and contribute to advances towards equality in the ways that both Ginsburg and Marshall had.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, to a working-class Jewish family, Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s path to becoming an outspoken advocate, known for challenging institutions and for her dissents in court, was not always clear-cut. She was timid and quiet, although her intellectual capabilities were recognised from an early age. Ginsburg’s mother, Celia Amster, similarly astute and clever, was unable to pursue higher education as her brother had done. Ms Amster did everything in her power to ensure that her daughter would attend university. Having excelled academically, Ruth attended Cornell University where she would meet her husband of over 60 years, Martin Ginsburg. She would later remark that her husband, whom she affectionately called Marty, was “the only boy [she] ever knew up until that time who cared that [she] had a brain”. 

Ruth Bader Ginsburg photographed by Lynn Gilbert (1977), Wikimedia Commons

The years that ensued would serve as stories and accounts of sexist experiences she continuously endured throughout her career. Upon moving to Oklahoma with her husband, she began working at the Social Security Administration; her demotion came as a result of her first pregnancy. In Cambridge, Massachusetts, both Ruth and Martin attended Harvard Law School. In a class of over 500, Ginsburg was one of only nine women. The dean of Harvard Law invited the women to dinner where he allegedly probed and questioned their presence at the prestigious law school. He asked each of the women: “Why are you at Harvard Law School, taking the place of a man?” Ginsburg replied explaining that she had followed her husband and wanted to understand his work. These were not the only instances of sexism Ginsburg faced in her lifetime.

A major turning point in Ginsburg’s career resulted from the work she undertook in Sweden, writing about the country’s civil justice system. It was the early 60s; women made up around 5 per cent of law students in the U.S., in stark contrast to Sweden’s rate of 20 per cent. She remarked that the country had an extraordinarily egalitarian system. Ideologies such as “men and women having one principal role, that of being people” were prevalent in Sweden but virtually unheard of in the U.S. This led to Ginsburg contemplating her own experiences and upbringing, and how she had essentially been prevented from advancing in her career, because of her sex and despite her impressive academic and professional achievements.

She returned to the U.S., bearing Swedish principles of gender equality, with the drive to, slowly but surely, mend the equality imbalance between women and men in her home country. Ginsburg decided to pursue a career in academia. Rejected from several institutions, once again on the basis of her sex, she eventually found a position at Rutgers University, before becoming a litigator and an associate justice.

Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg at her confirmation in 1993, Wikimedia Commons

Despite being widely regarded as a driving force in the fight to advance gender equality in the U.S., not all women admired her. In fact, then-President Clinton was initially hesitant to appoint Ginsburg as associate justice, citing the disapproval many women would express concerning this decision. Such opposition predominantly stemmed from her criticism of the Roe v. Wade case, which instigated scepticism from some feminist activists. The Roe v. Wade case was a pivotal moment in U.S. history; it ultimately led to the Supreme Court ruling to legalise abortion in all states. However, it wasn’t that Ginsburg didn’t want abortion to be legalised;  rather,  she felt that basing the argument on a woman’s privacy was the wrong way to go about it. According to Ginsburg, this left the law open to attacks. Instead, she believed it should be argued that preventing a woman’s access and right to abortion hindered gender equality. 

Nevertheless, amidst all the praise, a minority have also asserted that Ginsburg’s aspirations for equality weren’t inclusive and questioned the feminist label attached to her name. Others  have pointed out the insufficient numbers of Black law clerks she hired, as well as her comments disapproving of Colin Kaepernick’s national anthem protests in 2016 (which she later apologised for).

The biggest criticism of Justice Ginsburg relates to the 8-1 majority opinion she wrote on the City of Sherrill v. Oneida Indian Nation case in 2005. The Supreme Court ruled in favour of the Sherrill City and had denied the reinstatement of the land to the Native American tribe. Native Americans viewed the decision as an infringement on their rights. The Oneida Indian Nation had sought to regain sovereignty over the land since the 1990s by slowly repurchasing the land, and argued the land’s exemption from tax on the ground that it was tribal land. The city of Sherrill disputed this. The ruling of the case lowered Native Americans’ perception and esteem of Justice Ginsburg ever since. The case has predominantly been used to defend the argument that Justice Ginsburg’s vision of equality did not extend to all. There have, however, been reports that this case was her biggest regret. 

Ginsburg’s death comes at a politically sensitive time and is a reminder of the significance of the upcoming U.S. presidential election. With a mere five weeks left until voters take to the polls, President Trump and the Republican Party are currently pushing to get a replacement for Justice Ginsburg while the Democratic Party contends that her replacement should only be nominated until after the election. Only Republican Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski have voiced their belief that the next Associate Justice ought to be chosen after the election.

This debate has been further amplified amidst reports that Ginsburg’s last wish, dictated to her granddaughter, was for her replacement to be designated by the winner of the upcoming presidential election, which is being contested by President Trump. This debate has already become a focal point of the election as President Trump has stated that his Supreme Court nominee will be announced on September 26, with much speculation that he will choose Judge Amy Coney Barrett to preside. Approval of President Trump’s nomination would result in a conservative majority on the Supreme Court. Moreover, as Supreme Court justices are appointed for life, President Trump’s influence would be maintained for years to come, even if he loses the November election. There is no doubt that the election to come will be a momentous one in U.S. history. 

Justice Ginsburg’s strategic and measured way of thinking and acting in addition to her dedication to equality and justice will be greatly missed. She quietly and resiliently pushed for reform and progress in the face of gender inequality, proving that it’s not always the loudest person in the room that achieves change.