Not all heroes wear capes. Some wear robes with versatile collars. The world is mourning Notorious R.B.G.– the Supreme Court Justice and a true feminist icon. Ruth Bader Ginsburg fought for sex equality in the United States of America for many decades. She gained immense popularity with her strong opinions even when they weren’t welcome. Not only was she a crusader of gender equality, but she also gained pop-culture stardom with her landmark judgments in recent years.
After graduating first in her class at Cornell, she attended Harvard law as one of eight women in a class of 500. She then transferred to Colombia Law and went on to become the first woman to be tenured member of the faculty. In 1972 she co-founded the women’s Rights Project at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). As a young lawyer, Ginsburg surprised many as she represented as many men as she did women in cases that challenged traditional gender roles.
Linda Greenhouse– the former supreme court correspondent for the New York Times said, “she had a radical project. To erase the functional difference between men and women in society. She wanted to make it clear that there is no such thing as women’s work and man’s work.”
Her fans then named her Notorious R.B.G. It’s a play on the late rapper Notorious B.I.G. It was started by former New York University law student Shana Knizhnik in 2013 after the landmark judgment on voting rights in states that have a history of racial discrimination.
However, her pop-culture appeal is hard to miss. Directors Betsy West and Julie Cohen debuted a documentary ‘R.B.G.’ at the Sundance Film Festival in 2018. In late 2018, Felicity Jones starred in a biopic directed by Mimi Leder called On The Basis of Sex.
Not only that, she carried herself with panache everywhere she went. She was known for her infamous collars that jazzed up otherwise-mundane court attire. Ginsburg showed her Banana Republic necklace and said, “This is my dissenting collar… it looks fitting for dissents.” She actually chose the infamous collar every time she dissents from a decision being handed down by the Supreme Court.
From Kate Mcconnan impersonating R.G.B to a Tumbler account centred at featuring her fashion-sense, she rose in popularity. Parody music videos, memes and mugs– R.B.G. became a millennial-favourite Judge. She was filmed working out with Stephen Colbert in a fun segment where she is seen lifting dumbbells and doing planks.
Kate Mckinnon’s impersonation of Ginsburg was one of the more popular depictions of her in pop-culture. Vanity fair stated that “Kate McKinnon’s R.B.G. popped up a lot over the years, but it was this rap with Pete Davidson and Chris Redd, in which she calls out “ya putz!”, that might be best.”
But most importantly, her time in this world was a blessing as we reminisce and move forward, keeping in heart, her fight.
“Women will have achieved true equality when men share with them the responsibility of bringing up the next generation.” – R.B.G.