The second female justice to ever sit on the bench of the United States Supreme Court made some comments on Tuesday that should prickle the hairs of every female that’s ever fought for equality among the genders.
During a 10th Circuit Bench & Bar Conference in Boulder, CO, Ruth Bader Ginsburg said:
Now the perception is, yes, women are here to stay ... and when I’m sometimes asked when will there be enough and I say when there are nine, people are shocked.
She also said that she felt “lonely” after her colleague Sandra Day O’Connor retired, leaving her the lone lady on the high court. Hate to tell you this, sister, but leaders are often lonely, and you were and are a leader for professional gender equality.
I wonder if Ginsburg would have said the same thing about filling every position with a woman if Condoleezza Rice or Liz Cheney were up for a seat? For some reason, I have a feeling that she would eat her words and support Eric Holder over those two fine female attorneys.
What is the deal with this strange desire for a post-male society? A person isn’t a misogynist by virtue of being a man. The goal of feminism wasn’t a post-male society; it was equality in the workforce and in our culture.
Equal recognition for the accomplishments of ladies in the workplace does not mean that men should be driven out as reparation for past grievances. There used to only be men on the bench because men were the ones that went to law school and were able to gain enough acclaim in their legal careers to be considered for the job.
That’s changed -- and it’s wonderful. No reasonable person these days would dream of telling a little girl she couldn’t be a lawyer or a judge someday. There are many, many capable people in the legal profession, and it is cool to see females serving in roles once reserved exclusively for men.
By no means does that mean we should swing the other way. Discrimination based on sex is unfair and unethical -- no matter which gender is getting the short end of the stick.
What do you think about Ginsburg’s comments?
Image via Medilldc/Flickr
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Comments 16
My husband is a white, middle class man. I have nothing but empathy for what he is going through with loss of work and not being able to fulfill the traditional "provider" role. He is married to someone whose father preached "never rely on a man".
Woman are so grossly under represented in our government (all three branches), and the fact you would take this quote so far out of context shows how much more work women have ahead.
What she's saying is, it will be enough when no one thinks anymore of the entire supreme court being filled with women than they did with it being filled with men. That's not elitism or want for special treatment, that's wanting society to TRUST US and treat us equally. For a persons genitalia to count for no more or less if they are female than they do if they are male, for it not to be a strike against a person because, "Well there are already women doing that, it wouldn't be fair to let another one, no matter how qualified she is, the poor men will be outnumbered!" No one thought that way when it was men leading, so why should they for women?
"It's so sad that women in general have no real respect for men or equality".
Pull your head out of your ass, please.
Yes, sharks! ;-)
Oh for god's sake, Jenny. Do you stay up late at night, thinking of ways to piss people off? You've twisted her words and her meaning to a point that it's completely meaningless. You know damn well that she's not suggesting that the Supreme Court should be all women. Do you really get paid for this crap?
Oh for god's sake, Jenny. Do you stay up late at night, thinking of ways to piss people off? You've twisted her words and her meaning to a point that it's completely meaningless. You know damn well that she's not suggesting that the Supreme Court should be all women. Do you really get paid for this crap?
She was simply responding the House Republicans just picking all men to chair their committees.