Gloria Steinem
Early Life
- March 25, 1934 born in Toledo, Ohio.
- Father: Leo Steinem a traveling antiques dealer.
- Mother: Ruth Nuneviller. Before Steinem was born Ruth, then aged 34, had a "nervous breakdown".
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Paternal grandmother, Pauline Steinem, was chairwoman of the educational committee of the National Woman Suffrage Association, a delegate to the 1908 International Council of Women, and the first woman to be elected to the Toledo Board of Education,
1944 parents split in divorce.
Steinem interpreted her mother's inability to hold on to a job as evidence of general hostility towards working women.
These perspectives convinced Steinem that women lacked Social and Political Equality.
1952-1956 Attended Smith College
After her graduation in 1956 Steinem received a Chester Bowles post-graduate fellowship to spend two years studying and writing in India.
Journalism Career
- 1962- Published an article in Esquire magazine regarding contraception and the way in which women are forced to choose between a career and marriage. Steinem later called this her first “serious assignment”.
- 1963- Published an exposé in Show magazine, “A Bunny Tale” ,http://dlib.nyu.edu/undercover/sites/dlib.nyu.edu.undercover/files/documents/uploads/editors/Show-A%20Bunny%27s%20Tale-Part%20One-May%201963.pdf
- 1969- Covered an abortion speak-out for New York magazine. She didn’t "begin my life as an active feminist" until that day.
- 1972, she co-founded Ms. magazine.
- "I realized as a journalist that there really was nothing for women to read that was controlled by women, and this caused me along with a number of other women to start Ms. magazine."
- Its 300,000 test copies sold out nationwide in eight days.
- 1972- Ms. made history when it published the names of women admitting to having had abortions when the procedure was still illegal in most of the United States
- 1976- A cover story on battered women made Ms. the first national magazine to address the issue of domestic violence http://gender.stanford.edu/essay-contest
- 2001- The magazine was sold to the Feminist Majority Foundation.
Steinem remains on the masthead as one of six founding editors and serves on the advisory board
Political Activism
- Steinem's involvement in presidential campaigns stretches back to the 1952 presidential election
- 1969- Brought her to national fame as a feminist leader by article "Black Power, Women's Liberation" . http://nymag.com/news/politics/46802/
- 1970- As “Feminist Leader” she campaigned for the Equal Rights Amendment testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee
- July 10, 1971- Steinem was one of over 300 women who founded the National Women's Political Caucus
- Delivered an “Address to the Women of America”, Addressed the issues of sexism, misogyny, racism and social class.http://www.history.com/topics/holidays/womens-history-month/videos/gloria-steinem-addresses-the-nwpc
1992- Steinem co-founded Choice USA, a non-profit organization that mobilizes and provides ongoing support to a younger generation that lobbies for reproductive choice.
Awards and Honors
- American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California's Bill of Rights Award
- American Humanities Association's 2012 Humanist of the Year
- Equality Now's International Human Rights Award
- National Gay Rights Advocate Award
- National Women's Hall of Fame inductee (1993)
- New York Women's Foundation's Century Award (2014)
- Society of Professional Journalists' Lifetime Achievement in Journalism Award
- United Nations' Society of Writers Award
- Presidential Medal of Freedom (2013)
List of Works
The Thousand Indias (1957)
The Beach Book (1963)
Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions (1983)
Marilyn: Norma Jean (1986)
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Revolution from Within (1992)
Moving beyond Words (1993)
Doing Sixty & Seventy (2006)
"Multiple Personalities: The Search for Deadly Memories." (1993) HBO
"Better Off Dead," (1993) Lifetime Network
"God may be in the details, but the goddess is in the question. Once we begin to ask them, there's no turning back."
Works Cited
- http://www.gloriasteinem.com/
- http://dlib.nyu.edu/undercover/sites/dlib.nyu.edu.undercover
- http://www.history.com/topics/holidays/womens-history-month/videos/gloria-steinem-addresses-the-nwpc
- http://gender.stanford.edu/essay-contest
- Brien, Jodi. Encyclopedia of Gender and Society. Los Angeles: Sage Publications, 2009. Print.