Hey guys! Hope everyone is getting into the groove of things and getting adjusted to Zoom. Hopefully you are getting some fresh air when you can and make sure you are social distancing! But, with that said, let’s get onto the blog!

The woman of this week is a big name in the Feminist movements. Most notably she has been leader in the second-wave feminist movement, which tackled issued such as patriarchy, birth control, and employment throughout 1960-1980s. She was a co-founder of Ms. Magazine and gave a plethora of speeches at rallies for women’s rights.

Our woman of the week is: Gloria Steinem.

One of the coolest things about Steinem was her contributions to Ms. Magazine. Beyond being the co-founder, she also was a major contributor to it and wrote shocking exposés. One of the most interesting pieces that Steinem wrote was her experience as an undercover Playboy Bunny and exposing the institution by detailing the harassment and sexual objectification the Playboy Bunnies dealt with on a daily basis. Beyond this, Ms. Magazine was very crucial in writing taboo pieces that were not being talked about. Most notably they wrote a piece, with an explicit and sad picture, of a woman who died from trying to give herself an abortion. Ms. Magazine played a crucial role in bringing women’s issues, that particularly were hidden from mainstream media, to the forefront.

Another piece that Steinem wrote was entitled, “If Men Could Menstruate”. In this essay, Steinem  argues that if men were the ones who menstruated, a lot of the discriminating issues women face on a daily basis would be fixed. She uses examples such as men making menstruation be a deciding factor on who gets to join the army, who gets employed in a certain sector, and it will covered in TV shows and movies. This is one of my favorite essays because it attacks the premise that most women’s issues are often so politicized and the discourse is dominated by males which, in turn, delays progress and remedies to the barriers women face.

Steinem’s activism and advocacy for the problems women face for all these years has been instrumental for the momentum of the women’s issues. A lot of the speeches that she has given over the years has covered various topics such as, but not limited to, marriage, rape culture, reproductive rights and gender roles. A big theme in a lot of her speeches was this idea of unity. In the 2017 Women’s March in Washington D.C., she emphasized the importance of unity in numbers. This idea has been woven in her earliest sentiments back in the 60s. She, along with a lot of other white feminists, believed that in order to gain more traction, they would have to ride the coattails of the Civil Rights Movement. However, this tactic raised a lot of criticisms from people outside this small subgroup of feminists, as it was argued that white feminists were just supporting African-Americans just for show. This critique of the second-wave feminism is what led the conversation into the third-wave, which is the need for intersectionality. Intersectionality is unity but, it is important to understand the difference between supporting a cause because it  further solely uplift you versus supporting a cause because it will uplift everyone.

Overall, Steinem has been a stable and poignant figure for the feminist movement for decades. Her work through her written pieces and speeches have been important in elevating and bridging the gap between those who participate in the feminist movement and those who are wary.

And, with that, have a great weekend!

Brianna Mitchell 🙂