In a previous post I had given a little history lesson about the holiday of Women’s Day, but in this post I will talk about a very important woman. A woman who is an icon of female empowerment, Ruth Ginsburg. She is known as Justice Ginsburg, who battled in the Supreme Court in the United States.
In the 1970s, Ginsburg was in the fight against male power and misogyny in order to gain women’s rights. She was first acknowledged in the courts when she challenged the denial of a dependent care deduction in taxes which was allowed for women but not for men. She presented and proved to the court that it was discrimination in the basis of sex, and won. And what makes this a big case is that there was no law placed against discrimination in the basis of sex at that time. After this case, all other cases involved with the basis of sex had to be acknowledged as unconstitutional. She continued on as a lawyer to fight and won five out of six victories in the Supreme Court appeals working along with the American Civil Liberties Union. These victories were based on the assumptions that men had jobs and women were to stay home. Women at that time were not allowed to have credit cards, and in some states they could be fired for being pregnant. Ginsburg’s victories slowly began to abolish gender discrimination and began to create gender laws. This was a new change for the United States and had finally brought more opportunities for women.
Ginsburg’s life and the case of Mortiz v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue was a groundbreaking moment in history that it was made into a film called the “On The Basis Of Sex.” I have watched this film and it brought a deep insight on her life and how society had acted towards women. There was a moment when Ginsburg refused to talk back against a man who was degrading her, but her daughter defended her and told her that she should not let anyone, not even a man talk to her that way. This was the moment that Ginsburg realized that eventhough laws had not yet been inplaced against discrimination, her daughter’s generation was proof that society had begun to change. Changes such as the ability to have a job, further their education, and to stand up for themselves. These were once the privileges that women in history never got to experience or use, but thanks to Ginsburg the law against discrimination in the basis of sex was inplaced. In my opinion the best part of the film that made an impact was the response that Ginsburg made to the judge. The judge stated, “The word “woman” does not appear even once in the U.S. Constitution.” Ginsburg responded, “Nor does the word “freedom,” Your Honor.”
Ginsburg is an important icon in women empowerment. She is intelligent, independent, motivated, and had an amazing support system to help her. No matter the struggle and hardships she had to overcome, she still succeeded and won. She won by creating change in the Supreme Court and throughout the country. I believe that if women have the chance to further their education and become motivated to chase after their goals and surpass the struggles, they will eventually succeed just like Ruth Ginsburg.
Here is a short video of Ruth Ginsburg’s discussion on how she became a living legal legend.
Video link: https://youtu.be/-GqcEmbnCxg
Work Cited
On The Basis of Sex. Dir. Mimi Leder. Perf. Felicity Jones, Armie Hammer, Justin Theroux. 2018. Focus Features. 2018. DVD.
Women Empowerment 