Launch Day: HBD RBG
Today, March 15th, 2022, marks what would have been Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s eighty-ninth birthday. A legend and hero to all, RBG served on the US Supreme Court for twenty-seven years, during which time she championed women’s rights and gay rights and advocated for the poor on many occasions. RBG was only the second woman to ever be appointed to the Supreme Court, and the first Jewish woman, at that. In fact, it was RBG who fought for a women's bathroom to be installed in the Supreme Court. Before her doing so, one did not exist.
In order not to drone on with little known facts of Ginsburg’s incredible life and tenure, I’d like to focus on why today’s date is so fitting for the launch of Being Anti-Sexist. RBG, aside from being a global feminist icon, embodied the mission of Being Anti-Sexist in her everyday life. The philosophy that we pledge here at BAS is a twofold commitment to both the state of being and the taking of an active position against something. Ginsburg did just that.
The former idea of “being” ties back to some of our world’s earliest philosophers and their work. Aristotle, Parmenides, and Heidegger are just a few theorists who contributed to ontology, what is known as the sect of philosophy dedicated to “being.” While there are many divergent beliefs about this concept, one that resonates with me is the notion that “being” is shared between any and everything. In other words, if something exists, then it is. This idea is powerful to me since it connects us all not only to each other, but also the world we interact with on a daily basis. We all exist; we all are.
The latter idea of taking an active position against a form of bigotry is an ideology outlined by Ibram X. Kendi’s novel How to be Antiracist, from which this site draws much of its inspiration. This idea addresses the fact that simply not being hateful isn’t enough in this complicated, ever-changing world of ours. Rather, we must fulfill our moral obligations to one another by mindfully being anti-something. This position not only gives more power to the individual (as they can actively work against harmful institutions instead of solely removing themselves from the situation), but it also speaks to the world within which we exist, where oftentimes staying quiet and remaining complicit is just as potent as contributing to the issue. Where Kendi illustrates his Antiracist, I define my Anti-Sexist, and RBG may be one of the best examples our modern day has of just that.
When the two are put together, “being” and “anti-sexist,” you result with a state of existence and consciousness that is dedicated to fighting against oppressive institutions that target women on the basis of their sex. Ruth Bader Ginsburg devoted her life to this cause -- to the idea that it’s up to us to advocate and change our world for a better tomorrow. So on this day, we’re not only commemorating the past by thinking of RBG, but also celebrating the future she fought towards with the launch of Being Anti-Sexist. Although there is plenty of oppression in our world, there’s even more room for aid, activism, and advancement. And if you can’t find that room at first, make it for yourself. After all, RBG did get that bathroom, didn’t she? So, here’s to a happy birthday for our late feminist queen and to a better tomorrow with BAS in our world!