Elana, Sonia, Ruth and the Court

I hope that these three women will bring their intelligence and their historical and cultural perspective and their particular knowledge from living female lives in a male privileged society to the fore as they sort out the meanings of the constitution. After all, former Chief Justice Rehnquist brought his male mind to his readings of the Constitution when he said that if the founding fathers had meant for women to have abortions they would have written it as such. Forget that the constitution was envisioned with white propertied men in mind.

There is no fact that does not need interpretation. There are no neutral readings - only readings that are committed to fairness, committed to knowing your bias, and then making sure it is not used to injure another. This is why nine justices are needed - so there is a diversity of thought. Each of their backgrounds matters, and should. It is why we still need more women, more gays, more blacks, and Muslims, etc. Actually I would love to see more of these identities embodied in each individual chosen.

With these three women we have white, and Latina, and working class, and rich, and Jew, and Catholic, and someone battling cancer, and a mom, and aunts, and sisters, and who knows what else. Ginsburg is known as a liberal who is also often a liberal feminist. Sotomayor hedged at her confirmation hearings but she surely seems to be a Latina feminist to me. Kagan has played her cards a bit too old boy’s school, but I still am hoping that she now finally feels free to defend women’s rights openly.

My point is this: if the three women on the Court remember to “remember the ladies”, then the whole country will be better off: because women come in all colours, classes, sexual preferences, ages, body-types, etc. The more Elana, Sonia and Ruth bring their female histories to the fore, the better for us all, and democracy as well. Sonia is right when she first wrote that she saw more and knew more because of her particular heritage.

Truly inclusive democracy must make sure to recognise the specificities and differences that construct our polyversal humanity. That is why I hope for more progressive female justices in all our glorious variety. It remains to be seen whether these women are decoys for misogyny in its modernised forms, or defenders of a just and anti-racist feminist democracy. I am betting on the latter.