Michele Threefoot, 8 years old, is a proud Hufflepuff.
She relates to the house from Harry Potter because Hufflepuffs are kind, loyal and believe in treating everyone the same. These are qualities shared by another one of her heroes, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
That’s why she chose to dress up as the 83-year-old Brooklyn native (sometimes known as The Notorious RGB) for “Superhero Day” at her school.
“She and her sister aren’t really into Marvel superheroes, so I was just going to put them in Supergirl capes and masks. But while our family was talking about it, she told me she wanted to be Ruth Bader Ginsburg. So we went with it!,” Michele’s mother, Krista Threefoot told The Huffington Post.
Michele learned about Ginsburg, who was the second of four total female justices who have served on the Supreme court, from a children’s book called I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark, which her mother picked up for her at a writing conference.
“The book talks a lot about the prejudices Ruth Bader Ginsburg faced as a child and about how she has worked her whole life to fight inequality in our country. Michele gets pretty passionate about unfairness, especially relating to girls and women, so the book’s message really stuck with her,” said Threefoot.
Threefoot didn’t question Michele’s decision to dress up as a non-traditional superhero. In fact, she proudly posted a picture of the mini-RBG in the group Pantsuit Nation, and on her own Facebook, where she wrote, “It’s superhero day at school. Michele has been reading the heck out of I Dissent and decided to dress as Ruth Bader Ginsburg, because she fights prejudice and injustice.”
She also added the text “Yes, world. Girls who read are dangerous” to the photo of Michele, referring to the Lisa Kleypas quote, “A well-read woman is a dangerous creature.”
While none of the other students knew who Michele was dressed as, no one made fun of her either, according to Threefoot. And she got a response from somewhere even better.
“I got an email yesterday from RBG’s assistant ― she saw the picture, loves it, and will be sending Michele a handwritten note!! I told Michele that RBG had seen the picture and loved it, but we are keeping the letter a surprise until it comes,” Threefoot said.
Threefoot is also planning to do a lesson using the I Dissent book with Michele’s girl scout troop, and the whole troop will be touring the Supreme Court next year.
“I can’t recommend the book enough to parents of young girls ― or boys,” she says.
