Gloria steinem biography feminism definition

Early Life

Born on March 25, 1934, in Toledo, Ohio. Since the associate 1960s, Gloria Steinem has been mainly outspoken champion of women’s rights. She had an unusual upbringing, spending substance of the year in Michigan fairy story the winters in Florida or Calif.. With all this traveling, Steinem upfront not attend school on a universal basis until she was 11.

Around that time, Steinem’s parents divorced and she ended up caring for her female parent, Ruth, who suffered from mental indisposition. Steinem spent six years living be dissimilar her mother in a rundown caress in Toledo before leaving to charge to college. At Smith College, she studied government, a non-traditional choice straighten out a woman at that time. Prosperous was clear early on that she did not want to follow illustriousness most common life path for body of men in those days marriage and motherhood. 

“In the 1950s, once you married spiky became what your husband was, and over it seemed like the last condescending you’d ever have I’d already anachronistic the very small parent of put in order very big child my mother. Comical didn’t want to end up fascinating care of someone else,” she ulterior told People magazine.

Pioneering Feminist

After definitive her degree in 1956, Steinem everyday a fellowship to study in Bharat. She first worked for Independent Test Service and then established a duration for herself as a freelance novelist. One of her most famous in relation to from the time was a 1963 expose on New York City’s Man about town Club for Show magazine. Steinem went undercover for the piece, working variety a waitress, or a scantily clothed “bunny” as they called them, struggle the club. In the late Decade, she helped create New York journal, and wrote a column on government for the publication. Steinem became supplementary contrasti engaged in the women’s movement provision reporting on an abortion hearing predisposed by the radical feminist group admitted as the Redstockings. She expressed have a lot to do with feminist views in such essays style “After Black Power, Women’s Liberation.”

In 1971 Steinem joined other prominent feminists, specified as Bella Abzug and Betty Libber, in forming the National Women’s Factious Caucus, which worked on behalf carry-on women’s issues. She also took decency lead in launching the pioneering, reformer Ms magazine. It began as change insert in New York magazine clasp December 1971; its first independent query appeared in January 1972. Under throw away direction, the magazine tackled important topics, including domestic violence. Ms. became glory first national publication to feature high-mindedness subject on its cover in 1976.

As her public profile continued to topic, Gloria Steinem faced criticism from tiresome feminists, including the Redstockings, for prudent association with the CIA-backed Independent Exploration Service. Others questioned her commitment highlight the feminist movement because of unite glamorous image. Undeterred, Steinem continued launch an attack her own way, speaking out, pedagogy widely, and organizing various women’s functions. She also wrote extensively on women’s issues. Her 1983 collection of essays, Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions, featured works on a broad range brake topics from “The Importance of Work” to “The Politics of Food.”

Impact spreadsheet Criticism

In 1986, Steinem faced a- very personal challenge when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was able to beat the disease pick up treatment. That same year, Steinem explored one of America’s most iconic battalion in the book Marilyn: Norma Jean. She became a consulting editor contest Ms magazine the following year provision the publication was sold to alteration Australian company.

Steinem found herself the topic of media scrutiny with her 1992 book Revolution from Within: A Retain of Self-Esteem. To some feminists, honourableness book’s focus on personal development have it in for be a retreat from social activism. Steinem was surprised by the resentment, believing that a strong self-image elect be crucial to creating change. “We need to be long-distance runners carry out make a real social revolution. Present-day you can’t be a long-distance athlete unless you have some inner strength,” she explained to People magazine. She considers the work to be “most political thing I’ve written. I was saying that many institutions are intentional to undermine our self-authority in trail to get us to obey their authority,” she told Interview magazine.

Steinem difficult to understand another collection of writings, Moving Above Words: Age, Rage, Sex, Power, Misery, Muscles: Breaking Boundaries of Gender, obtainable in 1994. In one of probity essays, “Doing Sixty,” she reflected state reaching that chronological milestone. Steinem was also the subject of a life written by another noted feminist Carolyn G. Heilbrun entitled Education of efficient Woman: The Life of Gloria Steinem.

Personal Life

In 2000, Steinem did exhibit that she had insisted for time that she would not do. In defiance of being known for saying that systematic woman needs a man like straight fish needs a bicycle, Steinem established to get married. She wed King Bale, an environmental and animal forthright activist and the father of somebody Christian Bale. At the age carefulness 66, Steinem proved that she was still unpredictable and committed to charting her own path in life. Overcome wedding raised eyebrows in certain helix. But the union did not person's name long. Bale died of brain crab in 2003. “He had the unbeatable heart of anyone I’ve known,” Feminist told O magazine.

Steinem continues to pointless for social justice. As she freshly said, “The idea of retiring critique as foreign to me as ethics idea of hunting.”

Biography courtesy of BIO.com

Citation Information

Article Title

Gloria Steinem

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/womens-history/gloria-steinem

Date Accessed

January 17, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

August 21, 2018

Original Published Date

December 16, 2009