Steinem, Gloria

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'''Gloria Marie Steinem''' (born March 25, 1934) is an American [[feminism|feminist]] icon, [[journalism|journalist]], and [[social activism|social]] and [[political activism|political activist]]. Rising to national prominence in the 1970s, she became a leading [[politician|political leader]] of the decade, and one of the most important heads of the [[Second-wave feminism|second-wave of the women's rights movement]]. She is the founder and original publisher of ''[[Ms. (magazine)|Ms.]]'' magazine, the founder of the [[pro-choice]] organization [[Choice USA]], co-founder of the Women's Media Center, the Women's Action Alliance and was an influential co-convener of the [[National Women's Political Caucus]].
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'''Gloria Marie Steinem''' (born March 25, 1934) is an American [[feminism|feminist]], [[journalism|journalist]], social critic, and [[political activism|political activist]]. Rising to national prominence in the 1970s, she became one of the decade's most influential voices and a major leader of the [[Second-wave feminism|second-wave of the women's rights movement]].
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She is the founder and original publisher of ''[[Ms. (magazine)|Ms.]]'' magazine, the founder of the [[pro-choice]] organization [[Choice USA]], co-founder of the Women's Media Center, the Women's Action Alliance and was an influential co-convener of the [[National Women's Political Caucus]].
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Despite having many critics, Steinem is credited even by her opponents for her for her efforts to bring to light the cruelty of [[female genital cutting]] and her defense of abused children. Although describing herself as a "radical feminist," late in life she surprised many supporters when she chose to marry and stood by her husband during his illness which caused his death, three years later.  
  
 
== Biography ==
 
== Biography ==
 
===Early life===
 
===Early life===
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Steinem was born in [[Toledo, Ohio]]. Her mother, Ruth (née Nuneviller), was of part German descent. Her [[Jew]]ish father, Leo Steinem, was a traveling antiques dealer (with trailer and family in tow) and the son of immigrants from Germany and Poland. The family split in 1944, when he went to [[California]] to find work while Gloria lived with her mother in Toledo.
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Born in [[Toledo, Ohio]], Steinem's mother, Ruth (née Nuneviller), was part German and her father, Leo Steinem was the son of [[Jew]]ish immigrants from Germany and Poland. His mother was the noted suffragette, Pauline Steinem. Gloria's family traveled in a trailer across the country so that her father could buy and sell antiques. As a result, the young Gloria did not attend school but received her early education from her mother. The family split in 1944, when Leo left for [[California]] to find work. At the age of 15, Gloria went to live with her older sister in [[Washington, D.C.]].  
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Years later, Steinem described her relationship to her mother as pivotal to understanding of social injustices. At 34, Ruth Steinem had a "nervous breakdown" that left her an invalid, trapped in delusional fantasies that occasionally turned violent. She changed "from an energetic, fun-loving, book-loving" woman into "someone who was afraid to be alone, who could not hang on to reality long enough to hold a job, and who could rarely concentrate long enough to read a book." Ruth spent months in-and-out of sanatoriums for the mentally disabled. Before her illness, Ruth had graduated with honors from [[Oberlin College]], worked her way up to newspaper editor, and even taught a year of calculus at the college level. Steinem's father, however, demanded that her mother relinquish her career, and divorced her after she became sick. The subsequent apathy of doctors, along with the social punishments for career-driven women, convinced Steinem women badly need [[social equality|social]] and [[egalitarianism|political equality]].<ref>Steinem, Gloria. ''Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions,'' 1984. pp. 129-138.</ref>
 
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Gloria Steinem attended [[Waite High School (Toledo, Ohio)|Waite High School]] in Toledo, then graduated from Western High School in [[Washington, D.C.]] She attended [[Smith College]], where she remains active. In 1960 she was employed by [[Warren Publishing]] as the first employee of ''[[Help! (magazine)]]''.
 
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===Journalism career===
 
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''[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]]'' magazine features editor [[Clay Felker]] gave [[freelance]] writer Steinem what she later called her first "serious assignment," regarding [[contraception]]; he didn't like her first draft and had her re-write the article.<ref>Dennis, Mclellan. [http://articles.latimes.com/2008/jul/02/local/me-felker2 Clay Felker, 82; editor of New York magazine led New Journalism charge,], [[Los Angeles Times]] July 2, 2008. Retrieved January 5, 2009.</ref> Her resulting 1962 article about the way in which women are forced to choose between a career and marriage preceded [[Betty Friedan]]'s book ''[[The Feminine Mystique]]'' by one year.
 
  
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In 1963, working on an article for [[Huntington Hartford]]'s ''Show'' magazine, she was employed as a [[Playboy Bunny]] at the New York [[Playboy Club]]. The article featured a photo of Steinem in Bunny uniform and exposed how women were treated at the clubs. The article was a sensation, making Steinem an in-demand writer in the process.
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At 34, Ruth Steinem had a [[nervous breakdown]] that left her an invalid, trapped in delusional fantasies that occasionally turned violent. Before her illness, Ruth had graduated with honors from [[Oberlin College]], worked her way up to newspaper editor, and even taught a year of calculus at the college level. Steinem's father, however, demanded that her mother relinquish her career, and divorced her after she became sick. The subsequent apathy of doctors, along with the social punishments for career-driven women, convinced Steinem that women badly need [[social equality|social]] and [[egalitarianism|political equality]].
  
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In 1972, she co-founded the feminist-themed [[Ms. magazine|''Ms.'' magazine]]. It began as a special edition of ''New York Magazine'', and Felker funded the first issue. When the first regular issue hit the news stands in July 1972, its 300,000 "one-shot" test copies sold out nationwide in eight days. It generated an astonishing 26,000 subscription orders and over 20,000 reader letters within weeks. Steinem would continue to write for the magazine until it was sold in 1987. The magazine changed hands again in 2001, to the [[Feminist Majority Foundation]]; Steinem remains on the masthead as one of six founding editors and serves on the advisory board.
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Gloria graduated from Western High School in [[Washington, D.C.]] and then attended [[Smith College]], where she graduated in 1956 (Phi Beta Kappa and ''magna cum laude''). She won a fellowship to study in India for two years, helping to develop her social [[conscience]].
  
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===Political awakening and activism===
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===1960s===
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After conducting a series of celebrity interviews, Steinem eventually got a political assignment covering [[George McGovern]]'s presidential campaign. Steinem became politically active in the feminist movement, as the media seemed to appoint Steinem as a feminist leader of sorts. Steinem brought other notable feminists to the fore and toured the country with lawyer [[Florynce Kennedy|Florynce Rae "Flo" Kennedy]]. In 1971, she co-founded the [[National Women's Political Caucus]] as well as the Women's Action Alliance.<ref>[http://asteria.fivecolleges.edu/findaids/sophiasmith/mnsss76_bioghist.html Five College Archives and Manuscript Collections.] Retrieved January 5, 2009.</ref>
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In 1960 Steinem was employed by [[Warren Publishing]] as the first employee of ''[[Help! (magazine)]]''. ''[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]]'' magazine features editor, [[Clay Felker]], her what she later called her first "serious assignment," regarding [[contraception]]. Her resulting 1962 article about women being forced to choose between a career and marriage preceded [[Betty Friedan]]'s ''[[The Feminine Mystique]]'' by one year.
  
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In May 1975, [[Redstockings]], a radical feminist group, raised the question of whether Steinem had continuing ties with the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] (CIA). Though she admitted work for a CIA-financed foundation in the late 1950s and early 1960s, Steinem denied any further involvement.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/1976/07/04/books/friedan-changed.html/ It Changed My Life] New York Times article Retrieved January 5, 2009.</ref> Steinem was also a member of [[Democratic Socialists of America]].
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In 1963, working on an article for ''Show'' magazine, Steinem took a job as a [[Playboy Bunny]] at the New York [[Playboy Club]]. The article, featuring a photo of Steinem in Bunny uniform and exposing how women were treated at the clubs, was a sensation, making Steinem an in-demand writer.
  
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Contrary to popular belief, Steinem did not coin the feminist slogan "A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle." The phrase is actually attributable to [[Irina Dunn]].<ref>[http://www.geocities.com/siliconvalley/vista/3255/herstory.htm "A Bit of Herstory."]</ref>
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In contrast to many prominent leaders of the feminist second-wave like [[Germaine Greer]], [[Kate Millett]], and [[Shulamith Firestone]], Steinem was an influential player in the legislative and political arenas. Her involvement in presidential campaigns stretches back to her support of [[Adlai Stevenson]] in 1952 (Lazo, 1998, 28). A proponent of civil rights and fierce critic of the [[war in Vietnam]], Steinem was initially drawn to Senator [[Eugene McCarthy]] because of his "admirable record" on those issues. But in meeting and hearing him speak, she found him "cautious, uninspired, and dry." She switched her alliance and declared on a late night radio show, "[[George McGovern]] is the real Eugene McCarthy." She found him unpretentious and genuine listened to her opinions. Five years later in 1968, Steinem was chosen to pitch the arguments to McGovern as to why he should enter the presidential race that year. He agreed, and Steinem "served as pamphlet writer, advance "man," fund raiser, lobbyist of delegates, errand runner, and press secretary" (Steinem 1984, 95).
  
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Steinem co-founded the [[Coalition of Labor Union Women]] in 1974, and participated in the National Conference of Women in [[Houston, Texas]] in 1977. She became ''Ms.'' magazine's consulting editor when it was revived in 1991, and  she was inducted into the [[National Women's Hall of Fame]] in 1993.<ref>[http://greatwomen.org/women.php?action=viewone&id=150 ''Women's of the Hall''.]</ref>
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===1970s-1980s===
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After conducting a series of celebrity interviews, Steinem eventually got a political assignment covering [[George McGovern]]'s presidential campaign. She became politically active in the [[feminism|feminist]] movement and brought other notable feminists to the fore and toured the country with lawyer [[Florynce Kennedy|Florynce Rae "Flo" Kennedy]]. In 1971, she co-founded the [[National Women's Political Caucus]] as well as the Women's Action Alliance. Steinem was also a member of [[Democratic Socialists of America]].
  
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The Women’s Action Alliance was created in order to coordinate resources and organizations at the grass-roots level. Founded by Steinem, Brenda Feigan, and Catherine Samuals, the Alliance’s initial mission was, "to stimulate and assist women at the local level to organize around specific action projects aimed at eliminating concrete manifestations of economic and social discrimination." Steinem played a variety of roles within the organization including chairing the board from 1971-1978 as well as being involved in fundraisers to assist the Alliance. By the 1980s, the Alliance had three main aims: the Non-Sexist Childhood Development Project, the Women's Centers Project, and Information Services. From the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s, the Women’s Action Alliance began placing more emphasis on women’s health issues as well as launching projects such as the 1987-88 Teenage Pregnancy Prevention Project, the Women’s Alcohol and Drug Education Project, the Resource Mothers Program and the Women’s Centers and AIDS Project. By the 1990s a large part of the Women's Action Alliance was funded by New York City and state budgets. In 1995, 65% of its funding was cut. In June of 1997, a vote of the Board of Directors dissolved the Women’s Action Alliance.
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The Women’s Action Alliance (WAA), created in 1971 to coordinate resources and organizations at the grass-roots level, was founded by Steinem, [[Brenda Feigan]], and Catherine Samuals. The Alliance’s initial mission was, "to stimulate and assist women at the local level to organize around specific action projects aimed at eliminating concrete manifestations of economic and social discrimination."  
  
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===Later life===
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In 1972, Steinem co-founded the feminist-themed [[Ms. magazine|''Ms.'' magazine]]. When the first regular issue hit the news stands in July 1972, its 300,000 test copies sold out nationwide in eight days. It generated an astonishing 26,000 subscription orders and over 20,000 reader letters within weeks. (Steinem would continue to write for the magazine until it was sold in 1987. Steinem remains on the masthead as one of six founding editors and serves on the advisory board.)
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In the 1980s and 1990s, Steinem had to deal with a number of personal setbacks, including the diagnosis of [[breast cancer]] in 1986<ref>[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1995/09/24/RV65259.DTL Making Ms.Story / The biography of Gloria Steinem, a woman of controversy and contradictions]</ref> and [[trigeminal neuralgia]] in 1994. In 1992, Gloria co-founded [[Choice USA]], a non-profit organization that mobilizes and provides ongoing support to a younger generation that lobbies for reproductive choice.
 
  
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At the outset of the [[Gulf War]], Steinem, along with prominent feminists [[Robin Morgan]] and [[Kate Millett]], publicly opposed an incursion into the Middle East and asserted that ostensible goal of "defending democracy" was a pretense.<ref>[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CEED61531F933A15752C0A967958260 The New York Times. "We Learned the Wrong Lessons in Vietnam; A Feminist Issue Still."] Retrieved January 5, 2009.</ref>
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By the 1972 election, the women's movement was rapidly expanding its political power. Steinem, along with Congresswomen [[Shirley Chisholm]] and [[Bella Abzug]], had founded the [[National Women's Political Caucus]] in July 1971. However, although she had brought in McGovern's single largest campaign contributor in 1968, she felt disrespected by McGovern's campaign staff. In April 1972, Steinem remarked that he "still doesn't understand the women's movement." McGovern ultimately excised the [[abortion]] issue from the party's platform, much to Steinem's disappointment.
  
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During the [[Clarence Thomas]] sexual harassment scandal, Steinem voiced strong support for [[Anita Hill]] and suggested that one day Hill herself would sit on the [[Supreme Court]].<ref>[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE3DF123EF935A15757C0A964958260 New York Times. "Anita Hill and Revitalizing Feminism"] Retrieved January 5, 2009.</ref>
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Steinem co-founded the [[Coalition of Labor Union Women]] in 1974, and participated in the National Conference of Women in [[Houston, Texas]] in 1977.  
  
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According to two [[Frontline (US TV series)|''Frontline'']] features (aired in 1995) and ''Ms.'' magazine, Steinem became an advocate for children she believed had been sexually abused by caretakers in day care centers (such as the [[McMartin preschool]] case).
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Steinem played a variety of roles within the Women’s Action Alliance, including chairing the board from 1971-1978 as well as being involved in fundraisers to assist the Alliance. By the 1980s, the Alliance had three main arms: the Non-Sexist Childhood Development Project, the Women's Centers Project, and its information services. From the late 80s and throughout the 90s, the WAA began placing more emphasis on women’s health issues as well as launching projects such as the Teenage Pregnancy Prevention Project, the Women’s Alcohol and Drug Education Project, the Resource Mothers Program and the Women’s Centers and AIDS Project. By the 1990s a large part of the Women's Action Alliance was funded by [[New York City]] and state budgets. In 1995, 65 percent of its funding was cut, and in June 1997, a vote of the board of directors dissolved the organization altogether.
  
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In a 1998 press interview, Steinem weighed in on the Clinton impeachment hearings when asked whether President [[Bill Clinton]] should be impeached for lying under oath, she was quoted as saying, "Clinton should be censured for lying under oath about Lewinsky in the Paula Jones deposition, perhaps also for stupidity in answering at all."
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In the 1980s and 1990s Steinem had to deal with a number of personal setbacks, including the the diagnosis of [[breast cancer]] in 1986 and trigeminal neuralgia in 1994.<ref>A disorder of the [[trigeminal nerve]] that causes episodes of intense pain in the eyes, lips, nose, scalp, forehead, and jaw.</ref>
  
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In a March 22, 1998 Op/Ed piece in the New York Times, Steinem effectively gave support to the notion that a man may: (1) uninvited, open-mouth kiss a woman; (2) uninvited, fondle a woman's breast; and (3) uninvited, take a woman's hand and place it on the man's genitals; and as long as the man retreats once the woman says "no" that this does not constitute sexual harassment. This has become known in the popular culture as the "One Free Grope" Theory. The Op/Ed piece was written in an attempt to defend then President Bill Clinton against allegations of sexual impropriety that had been made by White House volunteer [[Kathleen Willey]].
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===1990s===
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Steinem became ''Ms.'' magazine's consulting editor when it was revived in 1991. In 1992, she co-founded [[Choice USA]], a non-profit organization that mobilizes and provides ongoing support to a younger generation that lobbies for reproductive choice. She was inducted into the [[National Women's Hall of Fame]] in 1993.<ref>[http://greatwomen.org/women.php?action=viewone&id=150 Women of the Hall of Fame] Retrieved January 19, 2009.</ref>
  
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On September 3, 2000, at age 66, she married [[David Bale]], father of actor [[Christian Bale]]. The wedding was performed at the home of her friend [[Wilma Mankiller]], formerly the first female [[Tribal chief|Chief]] of the [[Cherokee Nation]]. Steinem and Bale were married for only three years before he died of brain [[lymphoma]] on December 30, 2003, at age 62.
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At the outset of the [[Gulf War]], Steinem, along with prominent feminists [[Robin Morgan]] and [[Kate Millett]], publicly opposed an incursion into the Middle East and asserted that the ostensible goal of "defending democracy" was a pretense.<ref>[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CEED61531F933A15752C0A967958260 The New York Times. "We Learned the Wrong Lessons in Vietnam; A Feminist Issue Still. 1991"], New York Times. Retrieved January 5, 2009.</ref>
  
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Steinem has repeatedly voiced her disapproval of the [[obscurantism]] and abstractions prevalent in feminist academic theorizing. She said, "Nobody cares about feminist academic writing. That's careerism. These poor women in academia have to talk this silly language that nobody can understand in order to be accepted...But I recognize the fact that we have this ridiculous system of [[tenure]], that the whole thrust of academia is one that values education, in my opinion, in inverse ratio to its usefulness—and what you write in inverse relationship to its understandability."<ref>Mother Jones. [http://www.motherjones.com/news/qa/1995/11/gorney.html/ "Gloria Steinem"] Retrieved January 5, 2009.</ref> Steinem later singled out deconstructionists like [[Judith Butler]] for criticism: "I always wanted to put a sign up on the road to [[Yale]] saying, 'Beware: Deconstruction Ahead'. Academics are forced to write in language no one can understand so that they get tenure. They have to say 'discourse', not 'talk'. Knowledge that is not accessible is not helpful. It becomes aerialised."<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2005/jan/17/gender.melissadenes "Feminism? It's Hardly Begun"] Retrieved January 5, 2009.</ref>
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During the [[Clarence Thomas]] sexual harassment scandal in 1991, Steinem voiced strong support for [[Anita Hill]] and suggested that one day Hill herself would sit on the [[Supreme Court]].<ref>[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE3DF123EF935A15757C0A964958260 New York Times. "Anita Hill and Revitalizing Feminism," 1992], New York Times. Retrieved January 5, 2009.</ref>
  
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==Political campaigns==
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In a 1998 press interview, Steinem weighed in on the Clinton impeachment hearings when asked whether President [[Bill Clinton]] should be impeached for lying under oath, she was quoted as saying, "Clinton should be censured for lying under oath about Lewinsky in the Paula Jones deposition, perhaps also for stupidity in answering at all." In a March 22, 1998 Op/Ed piece in the ''New York Times'', she effectively gave support to the notion that a man may: (1) uninvited, open-mouth kiss a woman; (2) uninvited, fondle a woman's breast; and (3) uninvited, take a woman's hand and place it on the man's genitals; and as long as the man retreats once the woman says "no" that this does not constitute sexual harassment. This has become known in the popular culture as the "One Free Grope" Theory. The Op/Ed piece was written in an attempt to defend then President Clinton against allegations of sexual impropriety that had been made by White House volunteer [[Kathleen Willey]].
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In contrast to many prominent leaders of the feminist second-wave like [[Germaine Greer]], [[Kate Millett]], and [[Shulamith Firestone]], Steinem was an influential player in the legislative and political arenas. Her involvement in presidential campaigns stretches back to her support of [[Adlai Stevenson]] in 1952.<ref>Lazo, Caroine. ''Gloria Steinem: Feminist Extraordinaire.'' New York: Lerner Publications, 1998. pp. 28.</ref>
 
  
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===1968 election===
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===2000s===
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A proponent of civil rights and fierce critic of the [[war in Vietnam]], Steinem was initially drawn to Senator [[Eugene McCarthy]] because of his "admirable record" on those issues. But in meeting and hearing him speak, she found him "cautious, uninspired, and dry."<ref>Steinem, Gloria. ''Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions'', 1984. p. 87.</ref>  Interviewing him for'' New York Magazine'', she called his answers a "fiasco," noting that he gave "not one spontaneous reply."  As the campaign progressed, Steinem became baffled at "personally vicious" attacks that McCarthy leveled against his primary opponent [[Robert Kennedy]], even as "his real opponent, [[Hubert Humphrey]], went free."<ref>Ibid. p.88.</ref>
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[[Image:Gloria Steinem, Nov. 3. 2008.jpg|thumb|150px|left|Gloria Steinem speaking at the Rangeview Public Library, Brighton, CO on November 3, 2008.]]
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On September 3, 2000, she surprised many people because at age 66, she married [[David Bale]], a South African businessman, and father of four, one is actor [[Christian Bale]]. The wedding was performed by her friend [[Wilma Mankiller]], formerly the first female [[Tribal chief|chief]] of the [[Cherokee Nation]]. The bride wore jeans, and the couple subsequently referred to each other not as husband and wife but as "the friend I married." Steinem and Bale were married for only three years before he died of brain [[lymphoma]] on December 30, 2003, at age 62. When criticized for getting married, she replied that marriage had evolved considerably allowing women much more freedom.
  
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On a late night radio show, Steinem garnered attention for declaring, "[[George McGovern]] is the real Eugene McCarthy."<ref>Miroff, Bruce. ''The Liberals' Moment: The McGovern Insurgency and the Identity Crisis of the Democratic Party''. University Press of Kansas, 2007. pp. 206.</ref>  Steinem had met McGovern in 1963 on the way to an economic conference organized by [[John Kenneth Galbraith]], and had been impressed by his unpretentious manner and genuine consideration of her opinions. Five years later in 1968, Steinem was chosen to pitch the arguments to McGovern as to why he should enter the presidential race that year. He agreed, and Steinem "consecutively or simultaneously served as pamphlet writer, advance "man," fund raiser, lobbyist of delegates, errand runner, and press secretary."<ref>Steinem, Gloria. ''Outrageous Acts'', 1984. p. 95.</ref>
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In the run-up to the 2004 election, Steinem voiced fierce criticism of the Bush administration, asserting, "There has never been an administration that has been more hostile to women’s equality, to reproductive freedom as a fundamental human right, and she has acted on that hostility."
  
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McGovern lost the nomination in the infamous 1968 Democratic Convention. Steinem gave McGovern credit for standing on the platform with Humphrey in a show of unity after Humphrey had clinched the nomination, whereas McCarthy refused the same gesture. She later wrote of her astonishment at Humphrey's "refusal even to suggest to Chicago Mayor Daley that he control the rampaging police and the bloodshed in the streets."<ref>Ibid. p. 96.</ref>
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Steinem was an active political participant in the 2008 election. She praised both the Democratic front-runners, commenting. Nevertheless, Steinem later endorsed Hillary Clinton.<ref>The Houston Chronicle. [http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/5142732.html/ Has Gloria Steinem Mellowed? No way], The Houston Chronicle. Retrieved January 5, 2009.</ref>
  
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===1972 election===
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She made headlines for a ''[[New York Times]]'' op-ed in which she called [[gender]], rather than [[Race (classification of human beings)|race]], "probably the most restricting force in an American life." She elaborated, "Black men were given the vote a half-century before women of any race were allowed to mark a ballot, and generally have ascended to positions of power, from the military to the boardroom, before any women."
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By the 1972 election, the women's movement was rapidly expanding its political power. Steinem, along with Congresswomen [[Shirley Chisholm]] and [[Bella Abzug]], had founded the [[National Women's Political Caucus]] in July 1971.<ref>Miroff. pp. 205.</ref>
 
  
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Nevertheless, Steinem was reluctant to re-join the McGovern campaign. Though she had brought in McGovern's single largest campaign contributor in 1968, she "''still'' had been treated like a frivolous pariah by much of McGovern's campaign staff."  And in April 1972, Steinem remarked that he "still doesn't understand the women's movement."<ref>Steinem, Gloria. ''Outrageous Acts'', 1984, p. 114.</ref>
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Since 2002, Steinem has actively supported young women through the [[Gloria Steinem Leadership Institute]]. She published her most recent book, ''Doing Sixty & Seventy'', in 2006.
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McGovern ultimately excised the abortion issue from the party's platform. (Recent publications show McGovern was deeply conflicted on the issue.<ref>Miroff. pp. 207.</ref>) Actress and activist [[Shirley MacLaine]], though privately supporting abortion rights, urged the delegates to vote against the plank. Steinem later wrote this description of the events:
 
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{{cquote|The consensus of the meeting of women delegates held by the caucus had been to fight for the minority plank on reproductive freedom; indeed our vote had supported the plank nine to one. So fight we did, with three women delegates speaking eloquently in its favor as a constitutional right. One male Right-to-Life zealot spoke against, and Shirley MacLaine also was an opposition speaker, on the grounds that this ''was'' a fundamental right but didn't belong in the platform.
 
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We made a good showing. Clearly we would have won if McGovern's forces had left their delegates uninstructed and thus able to vote their consciences.<ref>Steinem, Gloria. ''Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions'', 1984, pp. 100-110.</ref>}}
 
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[[Germaine Greer]] flatly contradicted Steinem's account. Having recently gained public notoriety for her feminist manifesto ''[[The Female Eunuch]]'' and sparring with [[Norman Mailer]], Greer was commissioned to cover the convention for ''[[Harper's Magazine]]''. Greer criticized Steinem's "controlled jubilation" that 38% of the delegates were women, ignoring that "many delegations had merely stacked themselves with token females...The McGovern machine had already pulled the rug out from under them.
 
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Greer leveled her most searing critique on Steinem for her capitulation on abortion rights. Greer reported, "Jacqui Ceballos called from the crowd to demand abortion rights on the Democratic platform, but Bella [Abzug] and Gloria stared glassily out into the room," thus killing the abortion rights platform. Greer asks, "Why had Bella and Gloria not helped Jacqui to nail him on abortion?  What reticence, what loserism had afflicted them?
 
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The cover of Harper's that month read, "Womanlike, they did not want to get tough with their man, and so, womanlike, they got screwed.
 
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===2004 election===
 
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In the run-up to the 2004 election, Steinem voiced fierce criticism of the Bush administration, asserting, "There has never been an administration that has been more hostile to women’s equality, to reproductive freedom as a fundamental human right, and she has acted on that hostility." She went on to claim, "If he is elected in 2004, abortion will be criminalized in this country."<ref>[http://www.buzzflash.com/interviews/04/02/int04008.html Buzzflash Interview] Retrieved January 5, 2009.</ref> At a [[Planned Parenthood]] event in [[Boston]], Steinem declared Bush "a danger to health and safety," citing his antagonism to [[Clean Water Act]], reproductive freedom, sex education, and [[AIDS]] relief.<ref>[http://www.democracynow.org/2004/7/26/feminist_pioneer_gloria_steinem_bush_is Feminist Pioneer Gloria Steinem: "Bush is a Danger to Our Health and Safety"] Retrieved January 5, 2009.</ref>
 
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===2008 election===
 
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Steinem has been an active political participant in the 2008 election. She praised both the Democratic front-runners, commenting, <blockquote>
 
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"Both Senators Clinton and Obama are [[civil rights]] advocates, [[feminists]], [[environmentalists]], and critics of the [[war in Iraq]]....Both have resisted pandering to the right, something that sets them apart from any [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] candidate, including [[John McCain]]. Both have Washington and foreign policy experience; [[George W. Bush]] did not when he first ran for president. Nevertheless, Steinem later endorsed Senator Clinton.<ref>The Houston Chronicle.[http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/5142732.html/ Has Gloria Steinem Mellowed? No way.] Retrieved January 5, 2009.</ref>
 
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</blockquote>
 
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She made headlines for a ''[[New York Times]]'' op-ed in which she called [[gender]] "probably the most restricting force in an American life," rather than [[Race (classification of human beings)|race]]. She elaborated, "Black men were given the vote a half-century before women of any race were allowed to mark a ballot, and generally have ascended to positions of power, from the military to the boardroom, before any women."
 
−
 
 
−
Steinem again drew attention for, according to the ''[[New York Observer]]'', seeming "to denigrate the importance of John McCain’s time as a prisoner of war in Vietnam." Steinem's broader argument "was that the media and the political world are too admiring of militarism in all its guises."<ref>The New York Observer. [http://www.observer.com/2008/stumping-clinton-steinem-says-mccains-p-o-w-cred-overrated/ ''Stumping for Clinton, Steinem Says McCain's POW Cred Is Overrated''] Retrieved January 5, 2009.</ref>
 
−
 
 
−
Following McCain's selection of [[Sarah Palin]] as his running mate, Steinem penned an op-ed in which she labeled Palin an "unqualified woman" who "opposes everything most other women want and need."  Steinem described her nomination speech as "divisive and deceptive" and concluded that Palin resembled "[[Phyllis Schlafly]], only younger."<ref>[http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-oe-steinem4-2008sep04,0,1290251.story "Palin: wrong woman, wrong message"] Retrieved January 5, 2009.</ref>
 
  
 
==Feminist positions==
 
==Feminist positions==
−
Steinem's social and political views overlap into multiple schools of feminism. This problem is compounded by the evolution of her views over five decades of activism. Although most frequently considered a [[liberal feminist]], Steinem has repeatedly characterized herself as a [[radical feminist]].<ref>[http://www.feminist.com/resources/artspeech/interviews/gloria.htm/ Marianne Schnall Interview]</ref> More importantly, she has repudiated categorization within feminism as "nonconstructive to specific problems. I've turned up in every category. So it makes it harder for me to take the divisions with great seriousness."
+
Steinem's social and political views overlap into multiple schools of [[feminism]]. Although most frequently considered a [[liberal feminist]], Steinem has repeatedly characterized herself as a [[radical feminist]].<ref>[http://www.feminist.com/resources/artspeech/interviews/gloria.htm/ Marianne Schnall Interview] Retrieved January 19, 2009.</ref> On occasion, however, she has repudiated categorization within feminism as "nonconstructive to specific problems. I've turned up in every category. So it makes it harder for me to take the divisions with great seriousness."
 +
[[Image:Steinem with young women.jpg|thumb|230px|Steinem continues to support feminist causes with the younger generation.]]
  
 
===Abortion===
 
===Abortion===
−
Steinem is a staunch advocate of ''reproductive freedom'', a term she herself coined and helped popularize. She credits an [[abortion]] hearing she covered for ''[[New York Magazine]]'' as the event that turned her into an activist. At the time, abortions were widely illegal and risky. In 2005, Steinem appeared in the documentary film, ''I Had an Abortion'', by Jennifer Baumgardner and Gillian Aldrich. In the film, Steinem described the abortion she had as a young woman in London, where she lived briefly before studying in India. In the documentary ''My Feminism'', Steinem characterized her abortion as a "pivotal and constructive experience."
+
Steinem is a staunch advocate of ''reproductive freedom'', a term she herself coined and helped popularize. She credits an [[abortion]] hearing she covered for ''[[New York Magazine]]'' as the event that turned her into an activist. At the time, abortions were widely illegal and risky. In 2005, Steinem appeared in the documentary film, ''I Had an Abortion'', by Jennifer Baumgardner and Gillian Aldrich. In the film, Steinem described the abortion she had as a young woman in [[London]], where she lived briefly before studying in [[India]]. In the documentary ''My Feminism'', Steinem characterized her abortion as a "pivotal and constructive experience."
  
 
===Pornography===
 
===Pornography===
−
Along with [[Susan Brownmiller]], [[Andrea Dworkin]], and [[Catherine MacKinnon]], Steinem has been a vehement critic of [[pornography]], which she distinguishes from [[erotica]]: "Erotica is as different from pornography as love is from rape, as dignity is from humiliation, as partnership is from slavery, as pleasure is from pain." Steinem's argument hinges on the distinction between reciprocity versus domination. She writes, "Blatant or subtle, pornography involves no equal power or mutuality. In fact, much of the tension and drama comes from the clear idea that one person is dominating the other." On the issue of same-sex pornography, Steinem asserts, "Whatever the gender of the participants, all pornography is an imitation of the male-female, conqueror-victim paradigm, and almost all of it actually portrays or implies enslaved women and master."  Steinem also cites "[[snuff films]]" as a serious threat to women.<ref>''Erotica and Pornography: A Clear and Present Difference''. Ms. Magazine. November 1978, pp. 53. & ''Pornography—Not Sex but the Oscene Use of Power.''  Ms. Magazine. August 1977, 43. Also available ''Outgrageous Acts'', pp. 219.</ref>
+
Along with [[Susan Brownmiller]], [[Andrea Dworkin]], and [[Catherine MacKinnon]], Steinem has been a vehement critic of [[pornography]], which she distinguishes from [[erotica]]: "Erotica is as different from pornography as love is from rape, as dignity is from humiliation, as partnership is from slavery, as pleasure is from pain." Steinem's argument hinges on the distinction between reciprocity versus domination. She writes, "Blatant or subtle, pornography involves no equal power or mutuality. In fact, much of the tension and drama comes from the clear idea that one person is dominating the other." On the issue of same-sex pornography, Steinem asserts, "Whatever the gender of the participants, all pornography is an imitation of the male-female, conqueror-victim paradigm, and almost all of it actually portrays or implies enslaved women and master."  Steinem also cites "[[snuff films]]" as a serious threat to women.<ref>''Erotica and Pornography: A Clear and Present Difference''. Ms. Magazine. November 1978, 53.</ref><ref>''Pornography—Not Sex but the Obscene Use of Power.''  Ms. Magazine. August 1977, 43.</ref>
  
−
===Female genital mutilation===
+
===Female genital mutilation/cutting===
−
Steinem wrote the definitive article on [[female genital cutting]] that brought the practice into the American public's consciousness.<ref>"The International Crime of Female Genital Mutilation." ''Ms. Magazine'', March 1979, pp. 65. Also Available ''Outrageous Acts'', pp. 292.</ref> In it she reports on the staggering "75 million women suffering with the results of genital mutilation." According to Steinem, "The real reasons for genital mutilation can only be understood in the context of the [[patriarchy]]: men must control women's bodies as the means of production, and thus repress the independent power of women's sexuality." Steinem's article contains the rudimentary arguments that would be developed by philosopher [[Martha Nussbaum]].<ref>Nussbaum, Martha C. ''Sex & Social Justice.'' New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. pp. 118-129.</ref>
+
[[Image:Fgm map.gif|right|thumb|Steinem brought to light the prevalence of female genital cutting (FGC) in Africa. (Map indicates estimates)]]
 +
Steinem wrote the definitive article on [[female genital cutting]] that brought the practice into the American public's consciousness.<ref>"The International Crime of Female Genital Mutilation." ''Ms. Magazine'', March 1980, 65.</ref> In it she reports on the staggering "75 million women suffering with the results of genital mutilation." According to Steinem, "The real reasons for genital mutilation can only be understood in the context of the [[patriarchy]]: men must control women's bodies as the means of production, and thus repress the independent power of women's sexuality." Steinem's article contains the rudimentary arguments that would be developed by philosopher [[Martha Nussbaum]] (Nussbaum 1999, 118-129).
  
 
===Transsexualism===
 
===Transsexualism===
−
Steinem has questioned the practice of [[transsexualism]]. She expressed disapproval that the heavily-publicized sex-role change of tennis player [[Renée Richards]] had been characterized as "a frightening instance of what feminism could lead to" or as "living proof that feminism isn't necessary." Steinem wrote, "At a minimum, it was a diversion from the widespread problems of sexual inequality." Apparently concerned for Richards' effect on the legitimacy of women's sports, Steinem asked, "Why should the hard-won seriousness of women's tennis be turned into a sensational circus by one transsexual?" She writes that, while she supports individuals right to identify as they choose, she claims that, in many cases, transsexuals "surgically [mutilate] their bodies" in order to conform to a gender role that is inexorably tied  to physical body parts. She concludes that "feminists are right to feel uncomfortable about the need for transexualism."  The article concluded with what became one of Steinem's most famous quotes: "If the shoe doesn't fit, must we change the foot?" Although clearly meant in the context of transsexuality, the quote is frequently mistaken as a general statement about feminism.<ref>''Outrageous Acts'', pp. 206-210.</ref>
+
Steinem has questioned the practice of [[transsexualism]]. She expressed disapproval that the heavily-publicized sex-role change of tennis player [[Renée Richards]] had been characterized as "a frightening instance of what feminism could lead to" or as "living proof that feminism isn't necessary." Steinem wrote, "At a minimum, it was a diversion from the widespread problems of sexual inequality."  
  
−
Prominent feminists like [[Judith Butler]], [[Eve Sedgwick]], and [[Donna Haraway]] have subsequently rejected Steinem's argument, embracing ideas of "queerness" and "the abject other" as vital to the destabilization and [[subversion]] of normative constraints.<ref>Butler, Judith. "Critically Queer." ''Bodies that Matter''. Routledge: New York, 1993. pp. 223-441.</ref>
+
She concludes that "feminists are right to feel uncomfortable about the need for transsexualism."<ref>Steinem, Gloria, 1983, ''Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions'', NY: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston. ISBN 9780030632365</ref>
−
 
 
−
In August 2008, Steinem appeared on the radio program ''Weekday'' and stated that her wikipedia page falsely attributed to her that she had "condemned transexualism, which I absolutely had never done."
 
  
 
==Quotes==
 
==Quotes==
−
*"Evil is obvious only in retrospect."{{Fact|date=October 2008}}
+
*"Evil is obvious only in retrospect."
−
*"The first problem for all of us, men and women, is not to learn but to unlearn."{{Fact|date=October 2008}}
+
*"The first problem for all of us, men and women, is not to learn but to unlearn."
−
*"The truth will set you free. But first, it will piss you off."{{Fact|date=October 2008}}
+
*"The truth will set you free. But first, it will piss you off."
 +
*"Slavery still exists, indeed it is more diverse and entrenched than it was before"
 +
*"Women's bodies are valued as ornaments. Men's bodies are valued as instruments."
 +
*"I don't trust any religion that makes God look like one of the ruling class. I guess I'm a pagan or an animist."
  
 
==List of works==
 
==List of works==
−
* ''The Thousand Indias'' (1957)
+
* ''The Thousand Indias'' (1957), a travel guide published by the Indian government and designed to attract Americans to study and work in India
−
* ''The Beach Book'' (1963)
+
* ''The Beach Book'' (1963), NY, Viking Press. {{OCLC|1393887}}
−
* ''Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions'' (1983)
+
* ''Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions'' (1983), NY: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston. ISBN 9780030632365
−
* ''Marilyn: Norma Jean'' (1986)
+
* ''Marilyn: Norma Jean'' (1986), with George Barris, NY: Holt. ISBN 9780805000603
−
* ''Revolution from Within'' (1992)
+
* ''Revolution from Within'' (1992), Boston: Little, Brown and Co. ISBN 9780316812405
−
* ''Moving beyond Words'' (1993)
+
* ''Moving beyond Words'' (1993), NY: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 9780671649722
−
* ''Doing Sixty & Seventy'' (2006)
+
* ''Doing Sixty & Seventy'' (2006), San Francisco, Calif.: Elders Academy Press. ISBN 9780975874424
  
 
==See also==
 
==See also==
Line 133: Line 109:
 
*[[Jane Fonda]]
 
*[[Jane Fonda]]
 
*[[Rosemary Radford Ruether]]
 
*[[Rosemary Radford Ruether]]
 +
*[[Bella Abzug]]
  
 
==Notes==
 
==Notes==
Line 138: Line 115:
  
 
==References==
 
==References==
−
* Attebury, Nancy Garhan. ''Gloria Steinem: Champion of Women's Rights'', Minneapolis, Minn.: Compass Point Books, 2006. ISBN 9780756515874
+
* Attebury, Nancy G. ''Gloria Steinem: Champion of Women's Rights'', Minneapolis, Minn.: Compass Point Books, 2006. ISBN 978-0756515874
−
* [[Tom Brokaw|Brokaw, Tom]]. ''Boom!: voices of the sixties: personal reflections on the '60s and today'', NY: Random House, 2007. ISBN 9781400064571
+
* [[Tom Brokaw|Brokaw, Tom]]. ''Boom!: voices of the sixties: personal reflections on the '60s and today''. NY: Random House, 2007. ISBN 978-1400064571
−
* Daffron, Carolyn. ''Gloria Steinem'', NY: Chelsea House Publishers, 1988. ISBN 9781555466794
+
* Butler, Judith. "Critically Queer," in ''Bodies that Matter: on the discursive limits of "sex"''. Routledge: New York, 1993. ISBN 978-0415903660
−
* Gilbert, Lynn, and Gaylen Moore. ''Particular Passions'', New York: Clarkson N. Potter, distributed by Crown, 1981. ISBN 9780517545942
+
* Daffron, Carolyn. ''Gloria Steinem''. NY: Chelsea House Publishers, 1988. ISBN 978-1555466794
−
* Gorman, Jacqueline Laks. ''Gloria Steinem: Trailblazers of the Modern World'', (Elementary and junior high school), Milwaukee: World Almanac Library, 2004. ISBN 9780836850932
+
* Gilbert, Lynn, and Gaylen Moore. ''Particular Passions''. New York: Clarkson N. Potter, distributed by Crown, 1981. ISBN 978-0517545942
−
* Heilbrun, Carolyn. ''The Education of A Woman: The Life and Times of Gloria Steinem'', Dial Press, 1995. ISBN 9780385313711
+
* Gorman, Jacqueline L. ''Gloria Steinem: Trailblazers of the Modern World'', (Elementary and junior high school). Milwaukee: World Almanac Library, 2004. ISBN 978-0836850932
−
* Henry, Sondra, and Emily Taitz. ''One Woman's Power'', Minneapolis, Minnesota: Dillon Press, 1987. ISBN 9780875183466
+
* Heilbrun, Carolyn. ''The Education of A Woman: The Life and Times of Gloria Steinem''. Dial Press, 1995. ISBN 978-0385313711
 +
* Henry, Sondra, and Emily Taitz. ''One Woman's Power''. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Dillon Press, 1987. ISBN 978-0875183466
 +
* Lazo, Caroline. ''Gloria Steinem: Feminist Extraordinaire.'' New York: Lerner Publications, 1998. ISBN 978-0822549345
 +
* Miroff, Bruce. ''The Liberals' Moment: The McGovern Insurgency and the Identity Crisis of the Democratic Party''. University Press of Kansas, 2007. ISBN 978-0700615469
 +
* Nussbaum, Martha C. ''Sex & Social Justice.'' New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. ISBN 978-0195110326
  
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
−
All links retrieved January 5, 2008.
+
All links retrieved June 23, 2017.
−
* {{WiredForBooks|gloriasteinem|1983 audio interview of Gloria Steinem by Don Swaim of CBS Radio, RealAudio}}
+
 
−
*[http://www.jwa.org/feminism/_html/JWA067.htm Gloria Steinem discusses "After Black Power, Women’s Liberation"]
 
−
*[http://www.gale.com/free_resources/whm/bio/steinem_g.htm Gloria Steinem Biography from Thomson Gale]
 
−
*[http://archives.cbc.ca/on_this_day/11/24/13531/ 1968 CBC interview with Gloria Steinem] (video)
 
−
*[http://www.frankjump.com/gloria.html Gloria Steinem speaks on "Nostalgia" on Bill Maher (video screenshot)]
 
 
*[http://fora.tv/fora/showthread.php?t=347 Jane Fonda and Gloria Steinem on ForaTv (video)]
 
*[http://fora.tv/fora/showthread.php?t=347 Jane Fonda and Gloria Steinem on ForaTv (video)]
−
*[http://www.onpointradio.org/shows/2006/12/20061207_b_main.asp Interview with Gloria Steinem on human trafficking (audio)]
+
*[http://www.feminist.com/resources/artspeech/interviews/gloriasteinem.html Conversation with Gloria Steinem at feminist.com]
−
*[http://www.feminist.com/resources/artspeech/interviews/gloriasteinem.html Interview with Gloria Steinem at feminist.com]
 
−
*[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/07/opinion/07steinem.html Gloria Steinem: "Right Candidates, Wrong Question"]
 
−
*[http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/08/opinion/08steinem.html Gloria Steinem: "Women Are Never Front-Runners"]
 
−
*[http://www.jwa.org/feminism Jewish Women and the Feminist Revolution] from the Jewish Women's Archive
 
−
 
 
−
{{Persondata
 
−
|NAME=Steinem, Gloria Marie
 
−
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
 
−
|SHORT DESCRIPTION=American [[activist]]
 
−
|DATE OF BIRTH=March 25, 1934
 
−
|PLACE OF BIRTH=[[Toledo, Ohio]], United States
 
−
|DATE OF DEATH=
 
−
|PLACE OF DEATH=
 
−
}}
 
−
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steinem, Gloria}}
 
  
 +
[[Category:Living people]]
 +
[[category:art, music, literature, sports and leisure]]
 +
[[category:literature]]
 
[[Category:biography]]
 
[[Category:biography]]
 
[[Category:writers and poets]]
 
[[Category:writers and poets]]
−
[[category:art, music, literature, sports and leisure]]
 
−
[[category:literature]]
 
 
{{credit|261499057}}
 
{{credit|261499057}}

Latest revision as of 05:30, 17 December 2022

Gloria Steinem
Gloria Steinem at news conference, Women's Action Alliance, January 12, 1972.jpg
Gloria Steinem at news conference, Women's Action Alliance, January 12, 1972
BornMarch 25 1934 (1934-03-25) (age 90)
Toledo, Ohio, USA
OccupationFeminist activist, Journalist, Writer, Political leader
Spouse(s)David Bale (2000─2003)

Gloria Marie Steinem (born March 25, 1934) is an American feminist, journalist, social critic, and political activist. Rising to national prominence in the 1970s, she became one of the decade's most influential voices and a major leader of the second-wave of the women's rights movement.

She is the founder and original publisher of Ms. magazine, the founder of the pro-choice organization Choice USA, co-founder of the Women's Media Center, the Women's Action Alliance and was an influential co-convener of the National Women's Political Caucus.

Despite having many critics, Steinem is credited even by her opponents for her for her efforts to bring to light the cruelty of female genital cutting and her defense of abused children. Although describing herself as a "radical feminist," late in life she surprised many supporters when she chose to marry and stood by her husband during his illness which caused his death, three years later.

Biography

Early life

Born in Toledo, Ohio, Steinem's mother, Ruth (née Nuneviller), was part German and her father, Leo Steinem was the son of Jewish immigrants from Germany and Poland. His mother was the noted suffragette, Pauline Steinem. Gloria's family traveled in a trailer across the country so that her father could buy and sell antiques. As a result, the young Gloria did not attend school but received her early education from her mother. The family split in 1944, when Leo left for California to find work. At the age of 15, Gloria went to live with her older sister in Washington, D.C..

At 34, Ruth Steinem had a nervous breakdown that left her an invalid, trapped in delusional fantasies that occasionally turned violent. Before her illness, Ruth had graduated with honors from Oberlin College, worked her way up to newspaper editor, and even taught a year of calculus at the college level. Steinem's father, however, demanded that her mother relinquish her career, and divorced her after she became sick. The subsequent apathy of doctors, along with the social punishments for career-driven women, convinced Steinem that women badly need social and political equality.

Gloria graduated from Western High School in Washington, D.C. and then attended Smith College, where she graduated in 1956 (Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude). She won a fellowship to study in India for two years, helping to develop her social conscience.

1960s

In 1960 Steinem was employed by Warren Publishing as the first employee of Help! (magazine). Esquire magazine features editor, Clay Felker, her what she later called her first "serious assignment," regarding contraception. Her resulting 1962 article about women being forced to choose between a career and marriage preceded Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique by one year.

In 1963, working on an article for Show magazine, Steinem took a job as a Playboy Bunny at the New York Playboy Club. The article, featuring a photo of Steinem in Bunny uniform and exposing how women were treated at the clubs, was a sensation, making Steinem an in-demand writer.

In contrast to many prominent leaders of the feminist second-wave like Germaine Greer, Kate Millett, and Shulamith Firestone, Steinem was an influential player in the legislative and political arenas. Her involvement in presidential campaigns stretches back to her support of Adlai Stevenson in 1952 (Lazo, 1998, 28). A proponent of civil rights and fierce critic of the war in Vietnam, Steinem was initially drawn to Senator Eugene McCarthy because of his "admirable record" on those issues. But in meeting and hearing him speak, she found him "cautious, uninspired, and dry." She switched her alliance and declared on a late night radio show, "George McGovern is the real Eugene McCarthy." She found him unpretentious and genuine listened to her opinions. Five years later in 1968, Steinem was chosen to pitch the arguments to McGovern as to why he should enter the presidential race that year. He agreed, and Steinem "served as pamphlet writer, advance "man," fund raiser, lobbyist of delegates, errand runner, and press secretary" (Steinem 1984, 95).

1970s-1980s

After conducting a series of celebrity interviews, Steinem eventually got a political assignment covering George McGovern's presidential campaign. She became politically active in the feminist movement and brought other notable feminists to the fore and toured the country with lawyer Florynce Rae "Flo" Kennedy. In 1971, she co-founded the National Women's Political Caucus as well as the Women's Action Alliance. Steinem was also a member of Democratic Socialists of America.

The Women’s Action Alliance (WAA), created in 1971 to coordinate resources and organizations at the grass-roots level, was founded by Steinem, Brenda Feigan, and Catherine Samuals. The Alliance’s initial mission was, "to stimulate and assist women at the local level to organize around specific action projects aimed at eliminating concrete manifestations of economic and social discrimination."

In 1972, Steinem co-founded the feminist-themed Ms. magazine. When the first regular issue hit the news stands in July 1972, its 300,000 test copies sold out nationwide in eight days. It generated an astonishing 26,000 subscription orders and over 20,000 reader letters within weeks. (Steinem would continue to write for the magazine until it was sold in 1987. Steinem remains on the masthead as one of six founding editors and serves on the advisory board.)

By the 1972 election, the women's movement was rapidly expanding its political power. Steinem, along with Congresswomen Shirley Chisholm and Bella Abzug, had founded the National Women's Political Caucus in July 1971. However, although she had brought in McGovern's single largest campaign contributor in 1968, she felt disrespected by McGovern's campaign staff. In April 1972, Steinem remarked that he "still doesn't understand the women's movement." McGovern ultimately excised the abortion issue from the party's platform, much to Steinem's disappointment.

Steinem co-founded the Coalition of Labor Union Women in 1974, and participated in the National Conference of Women in Houston, Texas in 1977.

Steinem played a variety of roles within the Women’s Action Alliance, including chairing the board from 1971-1978 as well as being involved in fundraisers to assist the Alliance. By the 1980s, the Alliance had three main arms: the Non-Sexist Childhood Development Project, the Women's Centers Project, and its information services. From the late 80s and throughout the 90s, the WAA began placing more emphasis on women’s health issues as well as launching projects such as the Teenage Pregnancy Prevention Project, the Women’s Alcohol and Drug Education Project, the Resource Mothers Program and the Women’s Centers and AIDS Project. By the 1990s a large part of the Women's Action Alliance was funded by New York City and state budgets. In 1995, 65 percent of its funding was cut, and in June 1997, a vote of the board of directors dissolved the organization altogether.

In the 1980s and 1990s Steinem had to deal with a number of personal setbacks, including the the diagnosis of breast cancer in 1986 and trigeminal neuralgia in 1994.[1]

1990s

Steinem became Ms. magazine's consulting editor when it was revived in 1991. In 1992, she co-founded Choice USA, a non-profit organization that mobilizes and provides ongoing support to a younger generation that lobbies for reproductive choice. She was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1993.[2]

At the outset of the Gulf War, Steinem, along with prominent feminists Robin Morgan and Kate Millett, publicly opposed an incursion into the Middle East and asserted that the ostensible goal of "defending democracy" was a pretense.[3]

During the Clarence Thomas sexual harassment scandal in 1991, Steinem voiced strong support for Anita Hill and suggested that one day Hill herself would sit on the Supreme Court.[4]

In a 1998 press interview, Steinem weighed in on the Clinton impeachment hearings when asked whether President Bill Clinton should be impeached for lying under oath, she was quoted as saying, "Clinton should be censured for lying under oath about Lewinsky in the Paula Jones deposition, perhaps also for stupidity in answering at all." In a March 22, 1998 Op/Ed piece in the New York Times, she effectively gave support to the notion that a man may: (1) uninvited, open-mouth kiss a woman; (2) uninvited, fondle a woman's breast; and (3) uninvited, take a woman's hand and place it on the man's genitals; and as long as the man retreats once the woman says "no" that this does not constitute sexual harassment. This has become known in the popular culture as the "One Free Grope" Theory. The Op/Ed piece was written in an attempt to defend then President Clinton against allegations of sexual impropriety that had been made by White House volunteer Kathleen Willey.

2000s

Gloria Steinem speaking at the Rangeview Public Library, Brighton, CO on November 3, 2008.

On September 3, 2000, she surprised many people because at age 66, she married David Bale, a South African businessman, and father of four, one is actor Christian Bale. The wedding was performed by her friend Wilma Mankiller, formerly the first female chief of the Cherokee Nation. The bride wore jeans, and the couple subsequently referred to each other not as husband and wife but as "the friend I married." Steinem and Bale were married for only three years before he died of brain lymphoma on December 30, 2003, at age 62. When criticized for getting married, she replied that marriage had evolved considerably allowing women much more freedom.

In the run-up to the 2004 election, Steinem voiced fierce criticism of the Bush administration, asserting, "There has never been an administration that has been more hostile to women’s equality, to reproductive freedom as a fundamental human right, and she has acted on that hostility."

Steinem was an active political participant in the 2008 election. She praised both the Democratic front-runners, commenting. Nevertheless, Steinem later endorsed Hillary Clinton.[5]

She made headlines for a New York Times op-ed in which she called gender, rather than race, "probably the most restricting force in an American life." She elaborated, "Black men were given the vote a half-century before women of any race were allowed to mark a ballot, and generally have ascended to positions of power, from the military to the boardroom, before any women."

Since 2002, Steinem has actively supported young women through the Gloria Steinem Leadership Institute. She published her most recent book, Doing Sixty & Seventy, in 2006.

Feminist positions

Steinem's social and political views overlap into multiple schools of feminism. Although most frequently considered a liberal feminist, Steinem has repeatedly characterized herself as a radical feminist.[6] On occasion, however, she has repudiated categorization within feminism as "nonconstructive to specific problems. I've turned up in every category. So it makes it harder for me to take the divisions with great seriousness."

Steinem continues to support feminist causes with the younger generation.

Abortion

Steinem is a staunch advocate of reproductive freedom, a term she herself coined and helped popularize. She credits an abortion hearing she covered for New York Magazine as the event that turned her into an activist. At the time, abortions were widely illegal and risky. In 2005, Steinem appeared in the documentary film, I Had an Abortion, by Jennifer Baumgardner and Gillian Aldrich. In the film, Steinem described the abortion she had as a young woman in London, where she lived briefly before studying in India. In the documentary My Feminism, Steinem characterized her abortion as a "pivotal and constructive experience."

Pornography

Along with Susan Brownmiller, Andrea Dworkin, and Catherine MacKinnon, Steinem has been a vehement critic of pornography, which she distinguishes from erotica: "Erotica is as different from pornography as love is from rape, as dignity is from humiliation, as partnership is from slavery, as pleasure is from pain." Steinem's argument hinges on the distinction between reciprocity versus domination. She writes, "Blatant or subtle, pornography involves no equal power or mutuality. In fact, much of the tension and drama comes from the clear idea that one person is dominating the other." On the issue of same-sex pornography, Steinem asserts, "Whatever the gender of the participants, all pornography is an imitation of the male-female, conqueror-victim paradigm, and almost all of it actually portrays or implies enslaved women and master." Steinem also cites "snuff films" as a serious threat to women.[7][8]

Female genital mutilation/cutting

Steinem brought to light the prevalence of female genital cutting (FGC) in Africa. (Map indicates estimates)

Steinem wrote the definitive article on female genital cutting that brought the practice into the American public's consciousness.[9] In it she reports on the staggering "75 million women suffering with the results of genital mutilation." According to Steinem, "The real reasons for genital mutilation can only be understood in the context of the patriarchy: men must control women's bodies as the means of production, and thus repress the independent power of women's sexuality." Steinem's article contains the rudimentary arguments that would be developed by philosopher Martha Nussbaum (Nussbaum 1999, 118-129).

Transsexualism

Steinem has questioned the practice of transsexualism. She expressed disapproval that the heavily-publicized sex-role change of tennis player Renée Richards had been characterized as "a frightening instance of what feminism could lead to" or as "living proof that feminism isn't necessary." Steinem wrote, "At a minimum, it was a diversion from the widespread problems of sexual inequality."

She concludes that "feminists are right to feel uncomfortable about the need for transsexualism."[10]

Quotes

  • "Evil is obvious only in retrospect."
  • "The first problem for all of us, men and women, is not to learn but to unlearn."
  • "The truth will set you free. But first, it will piss you off."
  • "Slavery still exists, indeed it is more diverse and entrenched than it was before"
  • "Women's bodies are valued as ornaments. Men's bodies are valued as instruments."
  • "I don't trust any religion that makes God look like one of the ruling class. I guess I'm a pagan or an animist."

List of works

  • The Thousand Indias (1957), a travel guide published by the Indian government and designed to attract Americans to study and work in India
  • The Beach Book (1963), NY, Viking Press. OCLC 1393887
  • Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions (1983), NY: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston. ISBN 9780030632365
  • Marilyn: Norma Jean (1986), with George Barris, NY: Holt. ISBN 9780805000603
  • Revolution from Within (1992), Boston: Little, Brown and Co. ISBN 9780316812405
  • Moving beyond Words (1993), NY: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 9780671649722
  • Doing Sixty & Seventy (2006), San Francisco, Calif.: Elders Academy Press. ISBN 9780975874424

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ A disorder of the trigeminal nerve that causes episodes of intense pain in the eyes, lips, nose, scalp, forehead, and jaw.
  2. ↑ Women of the Hall of Fame Retrieved January 19, 2009.
  3. ↑ The New York Times. "We Learned the Wrong Lessons in Vietnam; A Feminist Issue Still. 1991", New York Times. Retrieved January 5, 2009.
  4. ↑ New York Times. "Anita Hill and Revitalizing Feminism," 1992, New York Times. Retrieved January 5, 2009.
  5. ↑ The Houston Chronicle. Has Gloria Steinem Mellowed? No way, The Houston Chronicle. Retrieved January 5, 2009.
  6. ↑ Marianne Schnall Interview Retrieved January 19, 2009.
  7. ↑ Erotica and Pornography: A Clear and Present Difference. Ms. Magazine. November 1978, 53.
  8. ↑ Pornography—Not Sex but the Obscene Use of Power. Ms. Magazine. August 1977, 43.
  9. ↑ "The International Crime of Female Genital Mutilation." Ms. Magazine, March 1980, 65.
  10. ↑ Steinem, Gloria, 1983, Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions, NY: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston. ISBN 9780030632365

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Attebury, Nancy G. Gloria Steinem: Champion of Women's Rights, Minneapolis, Minn.: Compass Point Books, 2006. ISBN 978-0756515874
  • Brokaw, Tom. Boom!: voices of the sixties: personal reflections on the '60s and today. NY: Random House, 2007. ISBN 978-1400064571
  • Butler, Judith. "Critically Queer," in Bodies that Matter: on the discursive limits of "sex". Routledge: New York, 1993. ISBN 978-0415903660
  • Daffron, Carolyn. Gloria Steinem. NY: Chelsea House Publishers, 1988. ISBN 978-1555466794
  • Gilbert, Lynn, and Gaylen Moore. Particular Passions. New York: Clarkson N. Potter, distributed by Crown, 1981. ISBN 978-0517545942
  • Gorman, Jacqueline L. Gloria Steinem: Trailblazers of the Modern World, (Elementary and junior high school). Milwaukee: World Almanac Library, 2004. ISBN 978-0836850932
  • Heilbrun, Carolyn. The Education of A Woman: The Life and Times of Gloria Steinem. Dial Press, 1995. ISBN 978-0385313711
  • Henry, Sondra, and Emily Taitz. One Woman's Power. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Dillon Press, 1987. ISBN 978-0875183466
  • Lazo, Caroline. Gloria Steinem: Feminist Extraordinaire. New York: Lerner Publications, 1998. ISBN 978-0822549345
  • Miroff, Bruce. The Liberals' Moment: The McGovern Insurgency and the Identity Crisis of the Democratic Party. University Press of Kansas, 2007. ISBN 978-0700615469
  • Nussbaum, Martha C. Sex & Social Justice. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. ISBN 978-0195110326

External links

All links retrieved June 23, 2017.

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