Gloria Steinem: A Feminist with a Spine

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Gloria Steinem is a journalist, writer, political activist, and editor who dares to voice for women. Feminism has been the talk of the town for centuries. Gloria spent her early years in a house trailer traveling with her parents. After her parents divorced in 1946, Gloria Steinem settled with her mother in Toledo, Ohio, and attended school regularly for the first time. Her mother was diagnosed with Chronic Depression, so she had to take up the responsibility for her health and medication too.

After graduating from Smith College in 1956, Steinem went to India for a scholarship. She took part in non-violent rallies against government policy. In 1960, she began working as a journalist in the New York Times Magazine. She was a political columnist and she wrote feature articles. As a freelance writer, she was published in Esquire and women’s magazines. She co-founded Ms. Magazine in 1972 and has been one of the editors for fifteen years and continues to serve as a counseling editor. Her desire to fight for women’s rights is crystal clear. Equal rights for all was her aim and objective.

Social and Political Contributions:

Gloria Steinem has set up “social-cause-focused” organizations and contributed a lot the society.

MINDMAP FORMAT with a summary

Women’s Action Alliance:

It was founded by Gloria Steinem, Brenda Feigen Fasteau, Catherine Samuels, and others to provide resources to women working to change their lives by overcoming sexism and sex determination. Within a few months of its formation, the Women’s Action Alliance was receiving about two hundred letters weekly from women all over the nation seeking advice and information.

Gloria Steinem: A Feminist with a Spine | CIO Women Magazine — Source – interviewmagazine

National Women Caucus:

The group’s main purpose is to get women into power positions, women who are committed to the causes of other women who are going to just imitate the male politics as it has been practiced all these years. An organizing committee for the NWPC was hosted in Washington, DC from July 10 to 11, 1971. A count of 324 women was confirmed that represented 27 states and the District of Columbia too.

Women’s Media Center:

To be able to reach the necessary goals, WMC strategically uses an array of interconnected channels and platforms to transform not only the media landscape but also a culture in which women’s and girls’ voices, stories, experiences, and images are neither sufficiently amplified nor placed on par with the voices, stories, and experiences.

Helped to establish Women Centric Organizations:

The group created a network of feminist activists, coordinated resources, and led initiatives on several issues. The Women’s Action Alliance helped to raise discussion for a national agenda of feminist legislation, developed strategies for countering gender stereotypes in developmental education and helped open the first battered women’s shelters.

Books:

Besides the many books Gloria Steinem has written, her writing appears in many anthologies and textbooks. The poems and her writings in the anthologies have created a significant impact and have inspired many women. She has written several best-seller books and has been featured in many women-oriented magazines. Her paternal grandmother, Pauline Steinem, was the chairwoman of the educational committee of the National Woman Suffrage Association. Here is a list of her bestsellers:

Book Names	Summary
My life on the road:	It is a book about how the early years of Gloria Steinem led her to live an on-the-road kind of life, traveling, listening to people, learning, and creating change.
Revolution from Within: A Book of Self-Esteem:	For a long time, Gloria has been a part of the social revolution against injustice. In this book, she decides to restore the self-awareness that the injustice has sabotaged- in men as well as women, across boundaries of race, religion, age, and ability.
Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions:	About this book, Gloria Steinem says this book is a great reflection on the struggles many people before have made to make her liberties a reality. She realizes very well that even in today’s times many women do not enjoy equality.
Moving Beyond Words:	The women’s movements which are carried on in the 1990’s, are scrutinized by Gloria Steinem in this book. She offers possibilities for the future, focusing on such issues as economic empowerment, women politicians, and life affirmations that affect women today.
As If Women Matter:	A series of thought-provoking essays on feminism brings out the many forms of disgraceful facts that revolve around it. Gloria Steinem has implemented extensive research on the subject in a developing country like India and many other developing countries.

Some Interesting facts about Gloria Steinem:

Gloria’s mother was a writer too:

Before the birth of Gloria Steinem, her mother, Ruth, had been a reporter and an editor for a newspaper. She used a male pseudonym so that her work would get published. Her husband gave her a penniless and nomadic lifestyle which she couldn’t bear. Resulting in her taking the tough decision of divorcing her husband and falling into depression and dependent on tranquilizers. Gloria had to take care of her mother post all these events at a young age.

She used to write sketch comedy for a television show:

In 1964 Gloria Steinem wanted a short break from print journalism so she opted to write for a sketch comedy show named That Was the Week That Was, which aired on BBC. It was for the time being for BBC too. The 30-minute live show hosted by David Frost included satirical sketches about each week’s political news and featured celebrities like Alan Alda, Henry Fonda, and Gene Hackman.

Helped to establish two famous magazines:

In 1968, Gloria Steinem helped launch New York magazine, where she wrote a political column and the occasional long-form content. During the December 1971 issue of the magazine, she headed the development of an insert titled Ms. that covered women-centric articles and subjects. She continued to work for the publication for 15 years and is still considered an important part.

Lived in the same building for more than half a century:

In 1966, she lived in a rented apartment on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. She bought the apartment in the 1990s and purchased another one soon after. Till 2017, she was the owner of 5 such apartments in the brownstone building. The third apartment which she bought was used as a meeting place for traveling feminists.

Christian Bale’s stepmother:

She got married at the age of 66 which was quite a surprise for the public. As she got married to a British businessman and animal rights activist David Bale, she became the stepmother of Christian Bale, an Oscar-award-winning actor. To her misfortune, David Bale tragically succumbed to brain cancer in 2003 and passed away.