RBG

So I totally bit off of borkali’s reading list and decided to listen to the audio version of The Notorious RBG…

The book is chock full of personal and political triumphs and setbacks all woven together. It kind of skipped back and forth in the timeline, so you have to keep up with that. Not surprising RBG faced tons of sexism throughout her life and career. I’m so glad we don’t need feminism anymore because the war is over…JUST KIDDING! Being a woman in a patriarchal society is still an uphill battle and our rights are constantly in jeopardy.

I was curious to garner a better understanding on her stance on abortion rights and that whole Hobby Lobby mess. The book paints RBG as a true moderate, who is willing to make concessions to get the job done. She often quotes her mother-in-law’s advice about having to be “a little deaf sometimes”. Basically, you have to choose your battles wisely. For me, as a strident feminist, this is a difficult situation to accept. RBG was not sitting the bench during Roe v. Wade, that was before her time, but she disagreed with the verdict, not because she was against a woman’s right to choose, but because she felt the case was not strong enough and the right was given too hastily. “If only they waited” kind of mentality. I respect her, but this still frustrates me. If not now, then when? How long do we have to wait to be treated with equality? I was really gearing up to hear some juicy behind the scenes details on the Hobby Lobby verdict and the book just BRIEFLY mentions it! RBG dissented against it, but it all came down to a shrug about men outnumbering women on the Supreme Court and men just don’t get it. So that was a bit disappointing, but overall I would definitely recommend this book and will probably peruse through the illustrations next time I see it at a bookstore.

I hope I didn’t give away too much. I’m looking forward to borkali’s take on it.