Gender and the Law: Revisiting the Legacy of a Feminist Icon

Ch. 1 in THE JURISPRUDENTIAL LEGACY OF JUSTICE RUTH BADER GINSBURG (Ryan Vacca & Ann Bartow, eds., NYU Press 2023)

U. of Pittsburgh Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2024-22

16 Pages Posted: 23 Jul 2024

See all articles by Deborah L. Brake

Deborah L. Brake

University of Pittsburgh - School of Law

Date Written: May 30, 2023

Abstract

Justice Ginsburg attained celebrity status in her later years as the voice of feminism from the bench, but her influence on law and gender was not always so venerated. For much of her career, feminist scholarly criticism of her gender jurisprudence was sharp. Critics called the approach “formal equality,” pointing out that it benefited those women most similarly situated to men. The criticism echoed that leveled against her strategy as a litigator representing male plaintiffs. In recent years, Justice Ginsburg’s legacy has been burnished by a fresh interpretation crediting it with a more robust vision of gender equality than previously appreciated. This chapter contends that, while far from radical, the Justice’s gender jurisprudence is a product of a jurist committed to minimizing the role of gender as a site of social and economic oppression.

Although Justice Ginsburg’s impact on gender equality can fill a book on its own, this chapter focuses on identifying and explaining three core themes: an antipathy toward gender stereotypes embedded in the law; a vision of gender equality that transcends formal equality; and a recognition of the centrality of reproductive freedom to women’s equality. Each of these themes has been advanced, albeit imperfectly, by Justice Ginsburg’s career as a litigator and a jurist.

Keywords: Justice Ginsburg, jurisprudence, U.S. Supreme Court, justices, legal legacy, sex discrimination, gender equality, equal protection, reproductive rights

Suggested Citation

Brake, Deborah L., Gender and the Law: Revisiting the Legacy of a Feminist Icon (May 30, 2023). Ch. 1 in THE JURISPRUDENTIAL LEGACY OF JUSTICE RUTH BADER GINSBURG (Ryan Vacca & Ann Bartow, eds., NYU Press 2023), U. of Pittsburgh Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2024-22, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4901734 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4901734

Deborah L. Brake (Contact Author)

University of Pittsburgh - School of Law ( email )

3900 Forbes Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
United States

Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?

Paper statistics

Downloads
33
Abstract Views
170
PlumX Metrics