Gloria Steinem

"A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle"

Gloria Steinem graced this world with her soul on March 25, 1934. Although things were not always easy for her and her family. Her family and her bounced between houses in Michigan, Florida, and California. She did not attend school regularly until she was about eleven years old. Steinem's parents ended up filing for divorce and she had to take care of her mother, due to mental illness, until she left for college. She decided to go to Smith College and study government, which was an atypical choice for a woman at the time. She finished her degree and earned a fellowship to work in India. After this, Steinem became a freelance writer and went on to help create the "New York" magazine. Her columns followed mostly political topics and her engagement in the feminist movement started after she reported on an abortion hearing the by the feminist "Redstockings" group.

Steinem then went on to form the National Women's Political Caucus, with the help of Bella Abzug and Betty Friedan. She also was the leader in creating "Ms" magazine as its own publication. All of her success did not come without resistance though. Other feminists questioned her association with the Independent Research Service and others did not think she could commit to the feminist movement due to her glorious image. This did not stop Steinem though, she went on to write "Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions." In 1986, Steinem was diagnosed with breast cancer and even that could not slow her down, she beat it while writing "Marilyn: Norma Jean." Gloria Steinem is now eighty-three years old but she's still fighting. She just spoke at the Women's March in Washington, D.C. this year.

The fact that Gloria Steinem is eighty-three years old and is still fighting for women's rights saddens me but it shows how strong Steinem is. She has fought all her life for women's equality and continues to fight and that inspires me to do the same. When asked if she saw the feminist movement as a failure, since she is still fighting, she said, "'Feminism has not been a failure, we have achieved a great deal, but we still have a long distance to go." Gloria started this fight for women, but it is our turn to finish it. Her efforts have not been wasted, they are what makes us able to fight for our beliefs. While feminism has changed a lot since Steinem first started fighting, she has grown up with the change. This shows me that the fight is always evolving and we cannot be complacent in fighting for just one thing.