What I’m Reading: Notorious RBG – The Life & Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the late American Supreme Court Justice, is a pop culture icon who became known in her later years as the “notorious RBG” – a name inspired by popular rapper Notorious B.I.G.

Shana Knizhnik, the young lawyer and creator of the original Notorious RBG Tumblr account, partnered with journalist Irin Carmon on a Ruth Bader Ginsburg biography. Titled Notorious RBG – The Life & Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the biography was released in 2015, five years before RBG’s passing. 

I asked for the book as a Christmas present last year. I wish I had known more about RBG’s work earlier, but my interest and awareness of her grew only in the last few years, after watching the RBG documentary and the biographical film On The Basis Of Sex.

Once you start learning about this intelligent and truly unique woman, however, you’ll keep wanting to know more. Her life, her approach to work, her idiosyncrasies like her love of opera and ability to hold friendships with those who held opposing views – RBG’s legacy is one that feels more relevant as time goes on.

The insight that this book gives into her life and work is incredible. As much of a visual celebration of RBG as a written one, the biography supports the stories of her upbringing, early career, key cases and fierce dissents with photos, illustrations, timelines and annotated excerpts of her dissents (these are a gem for us non-lawyers!).

Example of annotation, in this case for RBG’s brief in Struck vs. Secretary of Defense

Summary of RBG’s dissents

The book is able to dive into much more detail than the documentary, particularly in regard to her cases. Amongst all the work-related info, however, the personal narratives shine through: such as her loving relationship with her husband Marty, her commitment and discipline to her fitness (she regularly trained with a PT, even during bouts of cancer) and her love of opera.

There’s even a double page spread on RBG’s workout!

Reflecting on this biography halfway into 2022, however, in a post-Covid world and with the potentially imminent overturning of Roe vs Wade (the case that legalised abortion in the states) there are three things that really stand out clearly to me:

1. Her steady and methodical approach

Once your eyes have been opened to the gender inequality and imbalance in society, it’s hard not to feel resentment or helplessness (ok, sometimes outright rage) at the status quo. But RBG showed a different way: a calm, methodical, intelligent approach to creating lasting change, step by step – or rather, case by case.

Instead of lamenting the injustices in the world, she shrewdly took on cases that she knew would create systemic change; particularly those she tackled on behalf of male plaintiffs that demonstrated how gender discrimination negatively impacted men too.

Which, of course, also benefitted women when those cases were won. Brilliant.

In answer to the question, what she would like to be remembered for, RBG said:

“Someone who used whatever talent she had to do her work to the very best of her ability. And to help repair tears in her society, to make things a little better through the use of whatever ability she has.”

2. Her friendship with Justice Scalia

We’ve all heard the saying that religion and politics should never be discussed at the dinner table – a clear acknowledgement of how divisive these topics can be.

But we now live in a world where it’s pretty easy to guess both from a person’s social media accounts. And it feels like over the last two years, any debates from politics and abortion to the pandemic and vaccines has the ability to break up friendships, relationships and families.

Which is why from this side of 2020, RBG’s friendship with Justice Antonin Scalia – a conservative – seems remarkable. Despite their differences in views on the bench, the two remained unlikely friends. In Ruth’s own words, “You could still resist his position, but you just had to like him.” Drawn together by their love of opera, there was even a US comic-opera created for them (Scalia/Ginsburg) and it was known that their two families celebrated New Year’s together for years.

I mean, wow. How refreshing.

She’s so tiny!

3. Her foreshadowing of problems with Roe vs Wade

When I went back and re-read RBG’s comments regarding Roe vs Wade, they feel scarily prescient. She knew that the ruling wasn’t necessarily a stable foundation for lasting change; it had tried to do too much at once, and it was based on a woman’s right to privacy, rather than gender equality.

I’ve included some quotes from the biography for you to read yourself:

“Sweeping judicial opinions… were counterproductive. Popular movements and legislatures had to first spur social change, or else there would be a backlash to the courts stepping in.”

“If only the court had acted more slowly, RBG said, and cut down one state law at a time the way she had gotten them to do with the jury and benefit cases. The justices could have been persuaded to build an architecture of women’s equality that could house reproductive freedom. She said the very boldness of Roe, striking down all abortion bans until viability, had ‘halted a political process that was moving in a reform direction and thereby, I believe, prolonged divisiveness and deferred stable settlement of the issue’.”

It was classic RBG: a measured approach governed by wisdom and legal reasoning. And it’s looking like she was right.

Excerpt from p85

The final verdict

Notorious RBG is definitely a book worth having in your collection and one I can see myself going back to again and again in the coming years. So read it, buy it, keep it close by.

And when you get angry, remember RBG’s legacy and her work. For the work continues. It has to.

“The pedestal upon which women have been placed has all too often, upon closer inspection, been revealed as a cage.”