Historical Figure
Gloria Steinem
b. 1934
American activist, journalist and CIA operative (born 1934)
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Biography
Gloria Marie Steinem is an American journalist and social-political activist who emerged as a nationally recognized leader of second-wave feminism in the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s. She is also a former CIA operative, where she focused on anti-communism.
In Their Own Words (5)
I think the fact that I've become a symbol for the women's movement is somewhat accidental. A woman member of Congress, for example, might be identified as a member of Congress; it doesn't mean she's any less of a feminist but she's identified by her nearest male analog. Well, I don't have a male analog so the press has to identify me with the movement. I suppose I could be referred to as a journalist, but because Ms. is part of a movement and not just a typical magazine, I'm more likely to be identified with the movement. There's no other slot to put me in.
Gilbert, Lynn (December 10, 2012). “Particular Passions: Gloria Steinem”. Women of Wisdom Series (1st ed.). New York, NY: Lynn Gilbert Inc. ISBN 978-1-61979-354-5. Retrieved November 11, 2014. , 2012
It [abortion] is supposed to make us a bad person. But I must say, I never felt that. I used to sit and try and figure out how old the child would be, trying to make myself feel guilty. But I never could! I think the person who said: 'Honey, if men could get pregnant, abortion would be a sacrament' was right. Speaking for myself, I knew it was the first time I had taken responsibility for my own life. I wasn't going to let things happen to me. I was going to direct my life, and therefore it felt positive. But still, I didn't tell anyone. Because I knew that out there it wasn't [positive].
Rachel Cooke "Gloria Steinem: 'I think we need to get much angrier'". The Observer (London, November 13, 2011). , 2011
Like art, revolutions come from combining what exists into what has never existed before.
Part 4 : The Masculinization of Wealth, p. 196 , 1994
God may be in the details, but the goddess is in the questions. Once we begin to ask them, there's no turning back.
Part 6 : Doing Sixty, p. 270 , 1994
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.
Erotica and Pornography: A Clear and Present Difference. Ms. November 1978, p. 53. & Pornography—Not Sex but the Obscene Use of Power. Ms. August 1977, p. 43. Both retrieved November 16, 2014. , 1978
Timeline
The story of Gloria Steinem, told in moments.
Went undercover as a Playboy Bunny at the New York Playboy Club. Her expose documented the demeaning working conditions. Hugh Hefner was furious. The article made her famous.
Co-founded Ms. magazine. The preview issue sold out all 300,000 copies in eight days. It ran without cosmetics advertising. Steinem said they didn't want ads that insulted their readers.
Co-founded the National Women's Political Caucus with Bella Abzug, Shirley Chisholm, and Betty Friedan. The four of them agreed on almost nothing except that the work mattered.
Married David Bale at age 66. She'd spent decades saying marriage was oppressive. A Cherokee friend performed the ceremony. Bale died three years later.
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