Ruth Bader Ginsberg Left Behind A Legacy That Will Empower Women For A Very Long Time

Posted: September 21, 2020

Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a role model who taught young women that it’s okay to speak out. That being powerful isn’t bad, that you can still be feminine without giving up your personality. Rest in peace.

On Friday September 19th, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Associate Justice on the American Supreme Court, passed away due to complications of pancreatic cancer. Ginsberg had been serving on the Supreme Court since August 1993, the second woman ever appointed to the Court and the first Jewish woman appointed. She was 87.

A champion of Women’s Rights

Ginsberg spearheaded a movement of modern feminism, an idol to women all over the country. She was given the name ‘The Notorious RBG’, a pun on the name of the rapper ‘The Notorious B.I.G.’ — Both were born in Brooklyn.

RBG was truly notorious, in the best way possible. She championed women’s rights, fighting to end discrimination on the basis of sex. Between ‘73 to ‘75, she argued six cases to the Supreme Court. She won five.

Her objective, to prove that the American 14th Amendment of the Constitution needed to ensure protections against sex-based discrimination and not only racial based discrimination, was a daunting task. And she fought, hard. Now, in the United States, both men and women are protected classes. There can be, legally, no discrimination based on sex in any scenario.

A role model for girls and women everywhere

RBG made a lasting impact on girls and women everywhere. RBG earrings, socks, purses were sold in stores or handmade on Etsy, all graced with her signature lace collar, robe, and glasses. She inspired us all. My friend has RBG earrings that she wears regularly. I remember when I first watched On the Basis of Sex, the documentary chronicling her life, I was inspired, determined, to become smarter, work harder.

Ginsburg’s struggles as a woman in law school spoke to me. As a woman who wants to go into STEM, I understand the struggles of being a woman in a male dominated field. While I will never know what Ginsburg went through, being one of few women in her graduating class at law school, her determination, persistence, and championed efforts will continue to inspire me, even now that she is gone.

“My mother told me to be a lady. And for her, that meant be your own person, be independent.”

Ruth Bader Ginsburg taught young women that it’s okay to speak out. She taught us that being powerful isn’t bad, that you can still be feminine without giving up your personality. She fought for us, at a time when we didn’t have the rights we take for granted today.

I can wholeheartedly credit much of my work ethic to RBG, after watching On The Basis of Sex. While I don’t want to become a lawyer or a Supreme Court Justice, I do want to follow in her footsteps as a strong, independent woman who can make her own decisions and provide for herself.

She will be remembered. Her legacy will last for a very long time.

Image source: YouTube

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