Fangirl Friday: The One and Only RBG (Ruth Bader Ginsburg)

Here’s what you’re going to do: Go the bathroom and close the door; now look at yourself in the mirror and say this: Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

How cool would it be if the visage of the Supreme Court Justice, known to her fans as RBG, suddenly appeared next to your reflection and offered some of her famously sage wisdom?

While we dream of that, let’s dote on the woman herself. Ruth Bader Ginsburg has sat on the Supreme Court since 1993 when she was appointed by then President Bill Clinton. Hers is a liberal voice on the bench where she has devoted much of her career to the advancement of women’s rights. Better we hear it from the hero herself:

Women will only have true equality when men share with them the responsibility of bringing up the next generation.

The state controlling a woman would mean denying her full autonomy and full equality.

I said on the equality side of it, that it is essential to a woman’s equality with man that she be the decision-maker, that her choice be controlling.

Her sharp intellect and keen wit (and, we can all agree, her badass liberal ways) have made her a cultural icon. Fan sites dedicated to her, her face and nickname gracing many a tote, mug and miscellaneous swag; she even has an illustrated biography entitled Notorious RBG (named for the eponymous Tumblr dedicated to her). Basically, she’s about as cool as they come.

All the hype aside, she’s a widely respectly and deeply revered woman who has dedicated her life to championing gender equality, civil rights, and more. Ruth Bader Ginsberg, RBG, whatever nickname you have, she’s an icon and a hero.

As RBG said herself, “Women belong in all places where decisions are being made.” We’re lucky to have her as high up as they go.

Photos courtesy of Huffington Post, Dcchs.org, and Cosmopolitan