What happens to us now that we have lost an icon? Our fearless leader and advocate for women's rights in this country is gone and for me, her passing brings fear and uncertainty. How are we forging ahead and what can we do to be prepared for what may be next?
Last week I sat down with my stepdaughter (13) and we watched the RBG documentary. She had not seen it. Watching it together was heavy and I teared up a few times, something she has rarely seen in our 8 years together. At one point she asked, "women had to have their husbands sign-off on loans to buy a car??"
I explained that the idea that gender constituted a political identity, or that women were a class one might discriminate against, was not a part of the Supreme Court’s decision-making process before Ruth Bader Ginsburg and is now the legal basis for just about EVERY legal protection women have. I also explained that through small, purposeful steps, RBG laid the foundation for what is now LGTBQIA rights in our country.
She understood.
We must forge ahead. We must fight for our rights. We must not go backward.
