Growing up in an Ashkenazi Jewish home in Bethesda, Emily Roe didn’t eat much spicy food. That changed with a college dining hall and a bottle of Frank’s RedHot, and now the D.C. resident runs her own hot sauce brand.
“[In] August, September 2020, I didn’t have a job; I had a lot of time on my hands,” Roe said. “I got really into spicy food when I was in college, so I was trying out different hot sauces and thinking about spicy food. I had this idea to try making my own hot sauce.”
She bought hot peppers from her local H Mart and “started experimenting.” As the batch fermented that September, the nation received news that changed the dynamic of the United States Supreme Court.
“Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away on the eve of Rosh Hashanah, … so that was on my mind,” Roe said. “I was really upset about everything, and then the name ‘Female Rage’ came to me.”
Roe created her brand, Female Rage Hot Sauce, in D.C., inspired by the Hebrew phrase “tzedek tzedek tirdof,” meaning “justice, justice you shall pursue.” Ginsburg had these words woven into the fabric of her ever-present lace collar.
“I was like, ‘OK, I’m going to pursue justice now,’” Roe explained. “I’m gonna do this in honor of [Ginsburg] and keep her memory alive, … so I started making hot sauce.”
Female Rage Hot Sauce is a small-batch, woman-owned hot sauce company blended with “passion and local organic produce,” according to the website. Roe said she aims to channel her anger, frustration and desire for change into tangible products: bottles of hot sauce.
She grew her own peppers in her Bethesda backyard and secured a job in digital fundraising. A move to her own place allowed Roe to plant even more peppers: “I had about 30 plants in my little backyard in D.C.”
The turning point for her was the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, in which the Supreme Court ruled that the U.S. Constitution doesn’t confer a right to abortion.
“In my head, I was like, ‘Maybe this isn’t just a hobby anymore,’” Roe said. “I was really pissed off when [the Dobbs decision] happened.”
She recalled seeing those around her posting infographics on Instagram and lamenting the Supreme Court’s decision, but never taking action: “I was like, ‘Yeah, this sucks. Let’s do something about it because I hate sitting here and feeling helpless.’”
Roe organized a fundraising party in her backyard in D.C. called “Hot Dogs for Abortions.” She grilled hot dogs and requested that each guest donate $20 at the door, setting a goal to raise $500. Two parties later, Roe had amassed $5,000 for abortion funds in Florida and Texas.
“That changed my perspective on things because I [realized], ‘Wait, I’m actually really good at organizing people and galvanizing them around a cause and raising money for it,” Roe said. “That’s when the gears started to turn in my head that I could sell my hot sauce and raise money for abortion access. I’ve done this before.”
Roe donates a portion of her proceeds to the DC Abortion Fund, one of the nation’s largest abortion funds, which supports abortion seekers from D.C. and across the U.S.: “That’s me giving tzedakah.” She also donates to the Red Tent Fund, a D.C. abortion fund founded on Jewish values.
For Roe, who grew up attending Bethesda Jewish Congregation, these donations are an act of tikkun olam, or repairing the world.
“Right now, there are countless women — most of them women of color — who live in states where they now have to travel five or six hours each way just to access lifesaving health care,” Roe said.
She referenced the brain-dead pregnant woman who was kept on life support in Georgia until her eight-week-old fetus was viable.
“It’s so draconian and scary,” Roe said. “That’s not what my religion tells me is OK. I feel like by truly helping women access lifesaving care that they deserve, that is, to me, repairing the world.”
Female Rage has grown to the point that Roe now sources produce from a farmer at Deep Roots Farm in Prince George’s County. She picks up the peppers, makes all of her hot sauce, sells her products at farmers markets and packs her online orders, all on top of her nine-to-five job. Over the past five years, Roe has raised more than $5,000 for abortion access through her brand.
Bottles of Female Rage Hot Sauce are available in grocery stores, wholesale accounts and even a gift shop in Geneva, Switzerland.
Being able to create her own brand and messaging rooted in Jewish values is the “most rewarding experience” for Roe.
“Five years ago, at this time, I thought the only way I could keep RBG’s legacy alive and honor her was to go to law school, become a lawyer and do exactly what she was doing,” Roe said. “And now I’m doing something that I never thought I would ever be doing, but I’m able to keep her memory alive and do something I’m passionate about.”
