Supreme Court Justices listening to President Trump. Image by Getty Images

Yeah, I have a thought or two about President Trump’s speech to Congress last night. But there’s a moment that struck me, and apparently many others, and that has Sisterhood written alllll over it: Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan’s facial expression as Trump mentioned Israel.

I was going to write a reaction to last night’s address, but then Elena Kagan’s face did it for me. pic.twitter.com/6UjT6sC8dD

— superfantastic (@superfantastic) March 1, 2017

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

That Elena Kagan face tho ?#JointAddress pic.twitter.com/V6eVidJEGS

— The Tylt (@TheTylt) March 1, 2017

Some necessary context: At that moment, Trump had just reached the part of his speech where he “reaffirmed our unbreakable alliance with the state of Israel.” Trump is talking, I’m listening, I look up, and suddenly, there, on my laptop, looking back at me is… my own facial expression in that moment. But on the face of Justice Elena friggin’ Kagan. Who knows what she was actually thinking about. (Complex legal arguments? Puppy corgies?) But in my fantasy version, the expression said ‘I will not be pandered to.’

Normally I’m not the biggest fan of expression-interpretation journalism. We don’t know what famous people are thinking, or, frankly, what anyone is, just by looking at their faces. Why pretend? And isn’t this especially unfair to women, whose, ahem, resting faces come under such scrutiny? That, and I personally have the kind of face where what I’m really thinking is apparent. (Example: ‘What, you don’t like that sandwich?’ ‘No, no, I’m just full.’ And it’ll be totally clear from my face that I’m not full, and will be getting a slice of pizza after.)

But what’s so compelling about analyzing Kagan’s facial expression in that moment is that there she is, someone who absolutely, given her line of work, cannot say what she’s thinking. With her words. Is there a rule about faces? Probably not!

Phoebe Maltz Bovy edits the Sisterhood, and can be reached at [email protected]. Her book, The Perils of “Privilege”, will be published by St. Martin’s Press in March 2017.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’re near the end of our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we have a very ambitious goal of $127,000 by April 21.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a Passover gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Make a Passover Gift Today!

$90 $180

$360

Other amount