There's been a lot of fervor over the fact that Ginni Thomas, wife of super-conservative misogynist Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, was running a teapartyish group called Liberty Central. She's recently stepped down very quietly now that the mid-terms are over.
There's been a lot of talk about how when you agree to be a Supreme Court justice, you give up certain rights, like expressing political positions. I agree with this overall, especially since a few of the ultra-conservative justices have been making public appearances at conservative fundraisers. But when we talk about "Supreme Court spouses" and how they agree to give up their rights, I can't help but sense the sexism in this assertion.
Of all the Supreme Court justices in history, four have been women. Three of those currently sit on the Court. Two of them do not have spouses. When we talk about who has to sit down and shut up, especially because their spouses have voices that overpower every law in the country, we are talking about women, though we conveniently call them "spouses." We are talking about yet another reason that women shouldn't just be overshadowed by our spouses' careers, but we should be controlled by them. Because "we" have "agreed" to accept a Supreme Court post.
It's true that spouses' political opinions often give a window into Supreme Court justices opinions, but it's not true that their spouses' actions actually do anything to affect their rulings. The fact that Ginni Thomas founded and headed a super-conservative political group doesn't tell us anything we don't know. Let's take a vote. Raise your hand if you didn't know that Clarence Thomas is a misogynist, conservative asshole.
Right. That's what I thought.
