RBG’s Groundbreaking Gender Case That Actually Defended Men’s Rights

In 1975, Ruth Bader Ginsburg took on Weinberger v. Wiesenfeld, a case that changed how the law viewed gender entirely. The story began when Stephen Wiesenfeld’s wife, a schoolteacher, passed away during childbirth. He applied for Social Security survivor benefits — only to discover those benefits were reserved for widows, not widowers. Ginsburg saw the case not simply as a man being denied benefits, but as a system that assumed caregiving was women’s work.

Before the Supreme Court, Ginsburg argued that this discrimination hurt everyone — women who paid into the system and men who wanted to care for their children. Her calm, laser-focused reasoning helped the Court unanimously rule that gender-based distinctions in federal benefits were unconstitutional.

It was a landmark moment that proved equality works in both directions. As Ginsburg often reminded, “Women’s rights are human rights — and so are men’s.”

💡 Little Known Fun Fact: When Stephen Wiesenfeld later remarried, RBG attended his wedding — a rare personal gesture that spoke volumes about her enduring connection to the people behind her cases.