I Refuse to Wait Fifty More Years for Change. Sincerely, a Gen Z Girl
I must start out by saying that my heart is heavy as we mourn the loss of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, one of the only four women who have served on the Supreme Court since its founding in 1789. She will go down in history for her success in fighting against gender discrimination and inspiring many others to do the same––but that fight is still far from over. Her spirit, her passion, her courage, her intellect, and her willpower remains within each and every one of us who have decided that tolerating society as it’s given to us is no longer acceptable, and that it’s time to change the misogynistic ideals that continue to permeate our politics and our culture.
The United States loves to call itself civilized, a nation of “liberty and justice for all,” but for the majority of the 20th century––which is quite recent, if you really think about it––women weren’t treated as equals.
Only one hundred years ago, women were given the right to vote.
Forty-eight years ago, the Equal Rights Amendment was passed, finally making women and men equal under the law. This means that forty-nine years ago, women were not equal under the law. Forty-nine years.
Then came many women’s firsts.
1972: Katherine Graham was the first female Fortune 500 CEO. 1981: Sandra Day O’Connor was the first woman on the Supreme Court. 1987: Aretha Franklin was the first woman in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 1997: Madeleine Albright was the first female Secretary of State. 2007: Nancy Pelosi was the first female speaker of the House of Representatives.
That last one was only thirteen years ago.
But when will those “firsts” then turn into “seconds,” and “twentieths,” and “fiftieths”? Right now, only 7.4% of Fortune 500 businesses are led by women, only four have served on the Supreme Court, we make up less than 8% of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and there have only been three female Secretaries of State.
How can we see one woman do what used to only be done by men and call it “equality”? Ginsburg couldn’t have put it better herself: “When I’m sometimes asked ‘When will there be enough [women on the Supreme Court]?’ and I say ‘When there are nine,’ people are shocked. But there’d been nine men, and nobody’s ever raised a question about that.” And though it’s not about the number, it’s about reaching a point where we’re no longer counting––where women have the same opportunities as men and can move into positions of power without being doubted. It’s about reaching a point where nine women could be on the Supreme Court without being criticized.
Society for women has come a long way, but it is nowhere near where it should be. Despite our incredible milestones in women’s rights, I, a teenage girl, still feel that I am growing up in a society where I don’t have the same respect that men do––where I am worried that I may never get that respect.
Yes, the Equal Pay Act was passed fifty-seven years ago, but the gender wage gap still exists today. Yes, the Supreme Court decided fifty-seven years ago that it is a woman’s right to access abortion, but tell me why more and more bans and restrictions are being imposed on it in recent years. Tell me why abortion is now a controversial topic, as if a woman’s right to make decisions for her own body is something “up for debate.”
After all Ginsburg and other feminists have done to progress our country, why does it feel like we’re now being pushed back several steps? Why does it feel like we’re not moving forward?
Not even a day after Ginsburg’s death, President Trump and Mitch McConnell, the Senate Majority Leader, are intent on replacing her. With less than two months left until the election, they are doing everything in their power to appoint a new justice, someone who may remain on the Supreme Court for the rest of their life and possibly for the majority of our lives. Doing so is in Trump’s best interest now, but what about for our country? What about for the future of the United States? Short-term politics should not be affecting lifetime judicial appointments that would have implications lasting for years and years to come.
I’m not only scared of what this means for myself as a 15-year-old girl, but what it could mean for my future children and their experience growing up in the United States. We, the younger generations, are directly affected by what’s happening today. We are the ones who will be forced to live under rulings made now, and that is exactly why I am terrified. These decisions can potentially stick with us for decades, and to be completely honest, I don’t want to be seventy years old and still see women being denied basic reproductive rights. I can’t help but wonder: will this country still be a “free” country, or only free if you’re a straight, white man? It saddens me to think that in years from now, we may still be on the streets protesting for our rights, rather than being able to trust our government to make the necessary changes. We need change now. Not in twenty years. Not in fifty years. Now.
What would Ginsburg say, if she were to see all her efforts slowly being reversed? She would tell us to keep fighting. No matter how bleak or how frustrating or how utterly hopeless the world seems, we owe to her and we owe it to ourselves and our future children to challenge the discrimination that has for too long been a part of American society and politics.
Ginsburg once said, "Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time,” but can’t we take those steps a little bit faster?