The Gender Equality Checkpoint

[xoxoxoBruce]

A wonderful interview with Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Well, emotions like anger, remorse, and jealousy are not productive. They will not accomplish anything, so you must keep them under control. In the days when I was a flaming feminist litigator, I never said to judges who asked improper questions, “You sexist pig.”

I’ll tell you one such incident. So I was arguing a case in Trenton, New Jersey, before a three-judge federal district court and one said, “Well, women are doing fine these days, opportunities are equal for them everywhere.” And I said, “Your honor, flight training isn’t available to women.” “Oh,” he said, “even in the military they have equal opportunity,” and I answered him with flight training is not available. His response to me was, “Oh, don’t tell me that, women have been in the air forever, I know from experience with my own wife and daughter.” So what is my comeback? “I’ve met some men who don’t have their feet planted firmly on the ground.” You don’t see that anymore, but in the 70s when judges knew it was improper to make racist jokes, women were still fair game.