Ruth Bader Ginsburg: An Unexpected Pop Culture Icon

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the octogenarian Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, was a cultural phenomenon. It seems almost ridiculous for someone of her position to have reached her celebrity status so late in life, but it endured throughout the years and cemented her as an inspiration to women (and men!) all over the world. Through this, she was able to leave behind a legacy worthy of being preserved, now more than ever, as so many seek to undo everything she worked so hard to achieve. From a tenacious personal life to a stellar career in the highest court of the land, she was a force to be reckoned with, and her rise to fame began as unexpectedly as one might have hoped, with a Tumblr account. 

This account was created in 2013 by Shana Knizhnik, who was a law student at the time, to celebrate Justice Ginsburg after her dissent in a voting-rights case: Shelby County v. Holder. Knizhnik gave the Justice the nickname of Notorious R.B.G, after the famous rapper and basically overnight Justice Ginsburg’s face was everywhere, from memes to t-shirts to tote bags. It was from this moment that so many people, especially the younger generations, really began to discover her eventful life. As the second woman to ever serve in the Supreme Court, she was a graduate from Columbia Law school that struggled to find employment as a female lawyer, even after graduating top of her class. Instead of letting this blatant sexism stop her, she became a law professor, co-founded the Women's Rights Project at the American Civil Liberties Union, and was later nominated by Bill Clinton to the Supreme Court. She was also fluent in Swedish, a four-time cancer survivor, and a mother of 2.   

People admired her work, and identified with her resilience in the face of adversity, and this lead her to become one of history’s most well-known feminist icons. 

She was a lifelong lover of the arts, opera especially, and even served as inspiration herself along with her friend and fellow Justice Antonin Scalia. In 2015 an opera, “Scalia/Ginsburg,” was written about their friendship, and they both occasionally appeared together onstage in silent roles.

She also was very doting to the artists themselves, and insisted in talking to the performers directly about their specific roles, their characters, the music. She had a passion for supporting these artists, and was at every dress rehearsal, opening night, and closing night of the American Opera Initiative, which brought new works to D.C.; whether good or bad, she was at all of them. Famously she also used to workout to the sound of opera recordings. 

As she grew in popularity, so grew the desire of people to know more about this enigmatic figure;  the trailblazer that seemed to be the only one standing in the way of a conservative agenda set on preventing women from obtaining their fundamental rights. The 2018 documentary “RBG” gave its viewers an unfiltered look at Justice Ginsburg’s triumphs both on a personal and on a professional level. The film captures the highlights of her career and shows how she was truly ahead of her time, and argued against issues of racism and sexism long before the term ‘intersectionality’ was even coined. 

Months after “RBG” hit theatres, a biopic on her life was also released, starring Felicity Jones and Armie Hammer, titled “On the Basis of Sex”. It focuses on the justice’s early life, from her time as a newlywed and a mother as well as a law student. It truly paints a picture of the strong partnership she shared with her late husband Martin, as a tireless supporter of his wife that put her own career before his. It also shows the landmark tax case she worked on that began to pave the way for gender equality, as she represented a man that was discriminated against for claiming a tax deduction for care for his disabled mother. 

With the death of Justice Ginsburg, the American people must come to terms with what will be a long and arduous fight to keep their democracy intact. Her memory will live on through the impact she left on so many people, and in the way her popularity brought attention to various important political issues. Her legacy will endure, but only by making sure that the next candidate that replaces her will not walk through the same doors Ginsburg fought so hard to open, only to shut them for anyone else that comes after.