Parents Are Dressing Up Their Daughters As Ruth Bader Ginsburg Because She Was 'Everything [They] Should Strive For'

Some Americans are honoring the legacy of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg by sharing pictures of their daughters dressed up as the history-making feminist icon. This way, they hope to show that Ginsburg has inspired—and will continue to mold—generations of young women, teaching them that they can do anything. Scroll down to see some of the best photos of girls dressed up as RBG for school events or Halloween. Let us know which photos you liked the most and why, and share your thoughts about Ginsburg and her legacy in the comments.

Ginsburg passed away from cancer complications at the age of 87 on September 18, 2020. Her death has caused a further rift and sparked a new political battle between the Republicans and the Democrats: the former want to announce her replacement on the Supreme Court as soon as possible while the latter want to wait. (Yes, their opinions were reversed in 2016.)

Bored Panda wanted to learn more about RBG's legacy and what we can expect to happen next in the US, so we reached out to Supreme Court expert Justin Crowe who is an associate professor of Political Science at Williams College. "Ginsburg's legacy is three-fold: the single most-accomplished female jurist in American history, the Supreme Court justice more responsible for gender equality than any other, and the first 'celebrity justice.'" Read on for the in-depth interview.

"From her time as an academic to her founding of the ACLU's Women's Rights Project to her service on both the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit and the Supreme Court, Ginsburg repeatedly overcame sexism and discrimination to break glass ceilings as a pioneering female law professor, advocate, and judge," Crowe explained.

"As the architect of a strategy for overcoming gender discrimination, one of the litigators responsible for executing that strategy in Supreme Court arguments, and then—later— as the author of landmark opinions pushing the law toward greater recognition of women's rights and greater realization of women's equality, Ginsburg is perhaps the central legal figure in the multi-decade ongoing fight against discrimination on the basis of sex," he said.

According to Crowe, over the last decade of her life, RBG was as popular as a rock-star.

"Ginsburg has attained rock-star level adulation—a uniquely durable source of fan obsession, especially but not exclusively for young women and girls, as a brilliant, eloquent, independent, fierce, powerful woman who lives her life to the fullest and performs her job to the best of her ability, critics and naysayers be damned."

Crowe said that it looks "clear" that President Donald Trump will nominate a replacement for Ginsburg and that the Republican-controlled Senate will give the nominee a vote.

"Assuming all the Democratic senators are unified, 4 Republican senators would need to oppose the nomination to stop the confirmation. If 3 oppose it, then the chamber is dead-locked 50-50, and Vice President Pence breaks the tie," Crowe kindly explained the ins and outs to Bored Panda.

"At the moment, Senators Susan Collins (ME) and Lisa Murkowski (AK) are the only Republicans on record as opposing confirming a nominee before the election. Some analysts suspect Senator Mitt Romney (UT)—the lone Republican to vote to convict President Trump at his impeachment trial—could be persuaded to join as well, but without a fourth Republican to join them, Democrats will not be able to stop confirmation," he said.

Crowe drew attention to how "hypocritical" the situation seemed because Republicans refused "to entertain President Obama's March 2016 nomination of Judge Merrick Garland following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia on the grounds that the people should be able to decide the president who nominated the new justice at that fall's election. President Trump obviously defeated Secretary Clinton and subsequently nominated Neil Gorsuch for that seat."

Crowe continued: "If Republicans—who face the prospect of losing the White House and control of the Senate in November—do push through a confirmation either before the election or in the lame-duck period following it (but before inauguration of the new Congress or a new president), a new Democratic majority—together with a potential President Biden—would no doubt entertain various measures, including adding new justices to the Court (which is perfectly legal and has been done many times before, as the number is established by statute rather than the Constitution), in response to the Republicans' refusal to heed the will of the voters."

In 1956, Ginsburg was one of 9 women accepted into Harvard Law School and graduated top of her class. President Bill Clinton nominated her to the Supreme Court in 1993. RBG was only the second woman to sit on the US Supreme Court. The first was Sandra Day O’Connor.

Robert Hackey, one of the parents who shared a photo of their daughter dressed up as RBG on Twitter, told Insider that the idea for the costume came after they saw Kate McKinnon performing as Ginsburg on ‘Saturday Night Live.’

Hackney’s daughter then researched Ginsburg, felt inspired by her, and dressed up as her for her 2nd-grade class project on influential Americans.

"We have always driven the point home with our daughter that being a female should never hold her back from anything she wants in this world, and I think learning about RBG resonated with her. RBG instantly became a hero to our daughter, and when it came time to choose an influential American for her class project, it was a no-brainer for her," Hackney said.

Meanwhile, Dinah Addie told Insider that RBG represents “everything” that she’s trying to raise her daughters to strive for, including strength, determination, and resilience in going for real change even in the face of great challenges.

"She paved the way for so many women and I'm so genuinely grateful," she said.