See Jane Do Everyday Women Doing Extraordinary Things
“Listen to the inner voice that tells you what you love, and I’ll help.”
Gloria Steinem
Gloria Steinem started out as an everyday woman who after being moved by the stories of other women put her passion into action. It has been written, she was a voice for women’s rights when women had no voice.
Gloria celebrated her 75th birthday this year and with it a legacy that includes founding Ms Magazine, New York Magazine, co-creating Take Our Daughters to Work Day, starting organizations like the Women’s Action Alliance, Voters for Choice, co-founding the Women’s Media Center and writing several best-selling books including Revolution from Within: A Book of Self-Esteem. She has no intention of slowing down.
What is the message or the truth about the women’s movement right now?
The general cultural pattern has been that women are generally conservative when they are young and get more radical as they get older. This is because women lose power as they get older and men gain power. We think if they’re not totally radical when they are young, it’s never going to happen, when actually life radicalizes them.
Have we accomplished what we set out to do 40-years ago?
We haven’t accomplished what we set out to do in anything. We shouldn’t think that revolution or let’s say transformation, is something that happens very quickly. Change is generational. We need to change the way children are brought up. We have no idea what is possible if we had one whole generation raised without violence.
When was that pivotal moment in your life that you thought, “I have to do something”?
The surprising thing for me was that I waited so long. I was probably in my mid 30s when I realized that just working hard and being a good girl wasn’t enough. What stands out most in my mind was covering as a journalist a hearing on abortion because the New York state legislature was trying to reform New York state law and they had invited 14 men and one nun to testify. A group of early feminists held a hearing to say, “Hold on, let’s hear from women on this,” and I went to cover it. It was the first time I’d ever heard women telling their stories in public.
What instilled the belief that you could accomplish what ever you set out to do?
I don’t believe that and I don’t think it is fair to tell our daughters that they can be whatever they want to be, because they can’t. It is unrealistic because then they’ll blame themselves if they can’t do it. The point is to say that you should be able to do whatever you want and you are going to have a great time breaking down those walls ahead of you.
Who are the women that are telling the stories that we should be listening to?
It is important to remember that we each have a story. We need to come together and listen to each other’s stories. We need to have speak outs; nothing is more powerful than speaking out on a specific issue you know something about or has happened to you. We need filmmakers and media people who amplify these stories for the world.
As you look back on your life is there anything you wish you knew that you know now?
Oh tons. I think I was naïve about how much it would take. I didn’t understand that if women were paid equally that it is a massive redistribution of wealth or that if we started to really count all productive labor including child rearing and care giving that’s a third of the work in the country.
What is your message to women around the world?
My message is don’t listen to me, listen to yourself, listen to the inner voice that tells you what you love, and I’ll help.
Get Involved ! – Five Things You Can Do Today to get involved with the Women’s Movement
- Find a group or organization that speaks to your interests or passions. And if there isn’t one, start one!
- Go to www.now.org to learn more about the National Organization for Women, the largest organization of feminist activists in the United States.
- Go to www.soroptomist.org to learn more about Soroptomist, an international organization for business and professional women who work to improve the lives of women and girls, in local communities and throughout the world.
- Learn more about women in the media at www.womensmediacenter.com
- Sign up to take your daughter or son to work this April at www.daughtersandsonstowork.org
