Gloria Steinem
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Gloria Steinem (born March 25, 1934) is a US feminist and journalist and a spokeswoman for women's rights. She is the founder and original publisher of Ms. magazine.
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Early Life
Gloria Marie Steinem was born in Toledo, Ohio. Her father was an antiques salesman. With his family in tow, he traveled in a trailer all around the United States, buying and selling. The family split in 1944, and Gloria went to live with her mother in Toledo. As a child in Toledo, Gloria cared for her ill mother and helped to support them both.
Education and Early Career
In 1952 Steinem entered Smith College as a scholarship winner. She majored in government studies and became politically active, working for Adlai Stevenson's campaign. She graduated in 1956 and left to study in India for two years. When she returned to the U.S., she was unable to find a job as a journalist because editors wanted male reporters. After two years she landed a job as an assistant editor of Help! magazine and also freelanced for other magazines. In 1963 she became a full-time freelance writer through the publication of her infamous undercover expose in working as a Playboy bunny.
Political Awakening and Activism
After a series of celebrity interviews, Steinem was eventually able to get a political assignment covering George McGovern's presidential campaign. This led to a position in a New York magazine. She also became politically active in the feminist movement. The media seemed to appoint Gloria as a feminist leader. In this role, Gloria managed to organize her lectures in ways that also brought other notable feminists to the foreground. During this time she toured the country with the brilliant lawyer Florynce Rae ("Flo") Kennedy.
In 1971 Steinem founded the National Women's Political Caucus and the Women's Action Alliance. In 1972 she founded the feminist magazine Ms. and wrote for the magazine until it was sold in 1987. Although Ms. has had a number of different owners since Steinem and the other founders sold it, she remains on the Masthead as one of six founding editors.
In 1974 Steinem founded the Coalition of Labor Union Women. In 1977 she participated in the National Conference of Women in Houston, Texas.
In 1991 when Ms. magazine revived, she became its consulting editor. In 1993 she was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.
Legacy
Gloria is regarded as a 'mother' figure to many young women who recognize the role she played in changing the outcome of their lives. Although she must feel a great sense of satisfaction at the changes she helped bring about, Ms. Steinem encourages people to never forget about how much is still left to accomplish.
In the 1990s, Gloria had to deal with health and personal set backs. In 1994, she contracted trigeminal neuralgia. She became a newlywed at an age when most people start retirement—on September 3, 2000 she married David Bale, father of actor Christian Bale. However, they were married for only three years before he died of brain lymphoma on December 30, 2003 at age 62.
She made famous a phrase that was coined by Australian author Irina Dunn: "A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle."
She is a member of Democratic Socialists of America.
List of Works
- Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions (1983)
- Marilyn: Norma Jean (1986)
- Revolution from Within (1992)
- Moving beyond Words (1993)