As you know by now, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away on Friday night.
I heard the "breaking news" on the radio that evening, as members of an observant Jewish family were returning from shul to their home just up the block from me. Rosh Hoshannah had just begun. In times past--and in some Orthodox communities--it's heralded by sounding a shofar: a horn made from a hollowed-out ram's tusk.
The shofar was, and is, still used to call attention to significant events, and to warn of danger. RBG's passing seems like a shofar blast.
She didn't single-handedly keep women from living out the nightmare of The Handmaid's Tale. But very few people did more to bring the status of women and girls--and, by extension, others who have been disenfranchised--closer to equality with that of men and boys.
While I didn't know her personally, I have the sense that she did what she did because of something she understood, perhaps viscerally, and which I came to understand during my gender transition: Anyone who doesn't have agency over his or her body and mind is a slave.
When I understood that, I believe, I truly became a feminist. Before that, I supported a woman's right to choose, in all areas of life (including reproduction), and equal opportunities. But, until I started living as a woman, they were merely "issues." Once I began my transition, I realized they were matters of my own life: Even though I never have been, and never will be, pregnant--and, thankfully, do not have to worry about having a hysterectomy without my consent-- I realize now that I could choose to take medications and undergo medical procedures to align my body with my psyche without having to ask permission from any man--or worrying about being imprisoned for violating a law written and enforced by men.
I could also continue cycling for the same reasons. Until recently, women weren't allowed to ride--or drive--in Saudi Arabia. In other societies, women and girls are discouraged, or even intimidated, away from such things.
My life--which includes cycling--is possible, in part, because of Justice Bader Ginsberg's work. Her passing is, among other things, a warning, or at least a signal, that I cannot take it for granted: a shofar blast, if you will.
