"A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle"
- Gloria Steinem
There have been many influential women in history that have helped to pave the way for Womens rights. One of these women is Gloria Steinem. Born in Toledo, Ohio in 1934 Steinem knew from a young age that she wanted to make a difference for women. Steinem's grandmother Pauline Perlmutter Steinem was actually the president of the Ohio Women Suffrage Association. Her mother was chronically depressed and had a mental breakdown when Gloria was just three years old. Gloria believed that it was the doctors treatment towards her mother that led to not being able to hold down a job. Her mothers mistreatment had a huge impact on Steinem becoming the powerful feminist she is today.
Steinem attended Smith College where she graduated with a degree in government Summa Cum Lauda. As one can imagine, this was a very uncommon major for women to study at the time. After graduating college Steinem traveled to India to work for an Independent Research Service. While in India, she also participated in nonviolent protests against government policy.
After working in India, Steinem moved to New York City to begin her career as a freelance writer and journalist. When she first began her career she actually wrote under a mans name because she knew that mens work was more likely to get published than females. This is where her fame to claim was born, after writing "I Was A Playboy Bunny". As one could predict, this article caught the attention of people all over America. In the article Steinem discusses going undercover as a waitress at Hugh Heffners Playboy Club. Her goal was to exploit the sexist, objectifying, and poor working conditions of the Playboy bunnies. Steinem found that her shoes physically grew half a size because of the high heels she was forced to wear, and she also lost 10 pounds within one week from the corset outfit. She also discovered how the bunnies all had to get a physical which included a Wassermann blood test and an internal physical. After publication of her article, Hugh Heffner actually got rid of the physicals as being a requirement to become a bunny.To this day, her article is considered one of the most detailed recall of the bunnies today. Though her article was greatly praised, Steinem had a difficult time finding work after publishing the article. Her same good looks and tight curves that had helped to get her into the Playboy Club were the same looks that were turning employers away from her.
It was not until 1968 that Steinem would get another big break becoming one of the founding editors for New York magazine. Here, she began the column "The City Politic" where she addressed feminism after attending a meeting that was held by a women's movement group (The Redstockings) discussing abortion.
In July of 1971 Steinem founded the National Womens Political Caucus alongside Betty Friedan, Shirley Chisholm, and Bella Abzug. The goal of this group was to assist in women who were seeking to gain elected and appointed positions of office in government. Just a year later, the first issue of Ms. magazine was published, also created by Steinem. The magazine was a platform to discuss current issues through a feminist perspective as well as celebrating the accomplishments of women throughout time. From the Ms. magazine came the Ms. Foundation For Women. Through the foundation Steinem raised millions of dollars to support underprivileged girls and women. The foundation created the first "Take Our Daughters To Work Day" to promote women in the workplace. In 1993 Steinem was inducted to the National Womens Hall of fame for all of her feminist efforts towards women.
Steinem later created the Womens and Aids Foundation with the Ms. Foundation to support women living with AIDS/HIV. Years later keeping up with the generational changes, Steinem co-creates the Womens Media Center with Jane Fonda to help bring attention to women in media including film, magazines, social media platforms, television and online venues.
Steinem was often criticized by other feminists because of her "glamorous looks". She did not fit the stereotype of being the tough tomboyish character that other feminists were perceived at the time. To me, that is something that I find very unique about her. Even after abundant criticism from the world and even other feminists who were supposed to be supporting her, she still continued to speak out for what she believed in. In 2013 Steinem was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Barack Obama, of which only 77 of 288 recipients have been women. Gloria Steinem embodies every aspect of femininity in a way that is often not thought about. She continues to fight for women's rights to this day, representing a true women warrior.
Works Cited
“Steinem, Gloria.” National Women's Hall of Fame, www.womenofthehall.org/inductee/gloria-steinem/.
Tunney, Kelly. “Obama Celebrates Women With Medal Of Freedom.” Bustle, Bustle, 25 Apr. 2018, www.bustle.com/articles/196645-how-many-women-have-won-the-presidential-medal-of-freedom-obama-celebrates-them-with-the-honor.
“Gloria Steinem.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 28 Apr. 2017, www.biography.com/people/gloria-steinem-9493491.
“Gloria Steinem Fast Facts.” CNN, Cable News Network, 20 Mar. 2018, www.cnn.com/2013/11/28/us/gloria-steinem-fast-facts/index.html.
“Ms. Magazine | Time Capsule: First Issues.” Ms. Magazine -- More than a Magazine a Movement, www.msmagazine.com/dec99/timecapsule7.asp.
I'm surprised at how much I learned in this short piece. I knew that there had been a famous paper written on the lives of Playboy Bunnies, but I had never thought too much of its significance until now. I think I'll be going out of my way to read it and learn more about Gloria Steinem in the near future.
ReplyDeleteI think you've raised an important point here, that Steinem doesn't "look" like a feminist because she didn't fit society's stereotype of masculine women, because it's something that's still discussed and debated today. For example, some argue that wearing makeup is anti-feminist because it makes women value themselves based on looks, or not being good enough.
ReplyDeleteLike the other comment on this post I was unaware of her famous Playboy article and will also be wanting to read more on Steinem.
Since I am currently majoring in Mass Communications with a concentration in Journalism, Steinem interests me a lot. It always hurts to hear that a female journalist wrote under a man's name or was assumed to be a man, because she should be allowed to share her work with the world as HERSELF, not as any random man. I definitely plan on reading her most famous article about the Playboy Bunnies! Thank you for this article!! Very informative!!
ReplyDeleteThis was a very informative and well written piece. I specifically wanted to point out the line "Her same good looks and tight curves that had helped to get her into the Playboy Club were the same looks that were turning employers away from her." I though this was an excellent part of your blog. I think that line represents how women are supposed to cherished for their bodies, but are often times punished as well. It shows the double standard so many of us have faced. I also like other people in the comment section pointed out, how she didn't "look like a feminist". I think that was important to note and I like how you included that she continued to fight for equal rights through the adversity. Overall, great job!!
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