Gloria Steinem's Our Revolution Had Just Begun

- “The main issues we face today were prefaced by the work done by the previous waves of women. We are still working to vanquish the disparities in male and female pay and the reproductive rights of women. We are working to end violence against women in our nation as well as others. We are still fighting for acceptance and a true understanding of the term ‘feminism,’ it should be noted that we have made tremendous progress since the first

In the year 1848 America held the first gathering dedicated to women’s rights; after decades of fighting for women’s equality, the 1920’s national election was the first for women to cast their presidential vote. The feminist movement, as a unisex advocacy, has had some successes other than voting rights, such as discrimination related to equal pay, having credit cards in their own names, terminating pregnancy, purchasing contraception or “the pill”, attending prestigious schools, becoming an astronaut or supreme court justice, and many more that have now been fixed due to this movement. So the question remains: do we still need feminism? After all, there have been many successes and several women claim they “don’t need feminism anymore”; however,

Currently, women have more rights than before and we can contribute a part of that to radical feminists. We have so many rights, that radical feminism is no longer the only solution, or even necessary. There are several ways that women, can now, fight oppression.

Today, the feminist movement has grown and is still growing as women around the globe have joined hands in the fight against inequality. Even though a lot has changed, all feminists, despite

Feminism adheres to all humans, regardless of race, sex, religion or any other defining mark and in order for true equality to be reality, human’s as a whole must demand for it. Gloria Steinem’s article “Our Revolution Has Just Begun,” addresses the underlying truths of feminism and its never-ending movement towards total equality. My analysis will focus on Steinem’s arguments regarding the future, which lie ahead for women as well as feminism itself, these arguments include: the economic benefits of equal gender pay, women’s right to reproductive freedom, and violence towards women.

All over the globe, violence and discrimination against women and girls violates their human rights and severely compromised their perception of equality. Culture, false beliefs and ancient traditions, such as early marriage, the nuclear family, gender-based discrimination, which lead to violence against women and femicide, destroyed young girls ' mental and physical wellbeing and self-esteem by supporting the ideas that gender-based discrimination and inequality is acceptable in our societies.

The Merriam-Webster definition of feminism is “the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes.” In the past century, gender roles have been challenged because of feminism. The very idea has completely flipped households, workplaces, and the general community and changed it for the better. A plethora of women’s movements were initiated in the 1960’s, and it gave people a look at how powerful women are when we stand united. Feminism has gained many followers in the past thirty to forty years as more people are becoming aware of conflicts pertaining to discrimination. However, there are many that were hesitant both in the 1960’s and in the present day, but for very different reasons. Nevertheless, persistence seems to be a beacon in women’s rights movements, thanks to very strong and level-headed role models.

Gloria Steinem, famous for being one of the faces of the second wave of feminism, was not always a great feminist leader. As a child, she had a great role model to be able to look up to: her grandmother, Pauline Perlmutter Steinem, was the leader of the Ohio Woman Suffrage Association, a delegate to the 1908 International Council of Women and the first female member of the Toledo Board of Education. She experienced a lot of sexism in her career, she even had to use a man’s name to start her journalism career. But, she soon became a respected writer after she went “undercover” as a Playboy bunny and wrote about the sexism in the job. Steinem also got involved in politics; in 1970 she testified in the Senate in favor of the Equal Rights Amendment.

Gloria Steinem was one of the most important leaders of the second wave of the women’s rights movement. As both an indirect and direct leader, she embodied her story by giving speeches and writing books and articles to help empower women across the United States and beyond. As she grew up in American society where sexism was present, she told an innovative story with visionary elements to prove to women that they were more than what society said they were. Her strong and feisty personality added to her success and I will argue that these factors along with her appearance helped her to be a major player and the face of the women’s rights movement.

    The feminism movement throughout the 1900’s showed much progression to equality in western society. It was this pivotal century that set the ball rolling for important women’s rights, including women’s suffrage in 1920, John F. Kennedy passing the Equal Pay Act in 1963, and even sparked revolutionary women such as Amelia Earhart, one of the first female pilots. But like all new changes there was room for improvement. This is where great speakers such as journalist Gloria Steinem stepped in. On May 6, 1970, Steinem spoke before Congress on the equal rights amendment as a supporter for female equality. She goes on to describe that still into the 1970’s that women were being socially discriminated

Gloria Steinem has been at the forefront of the feminist movement, speaking out against the gender inequalities in our society since the late 1960’s. While our feminist leaders have accomplished many wins on the battlefield for equality, there are still sectors of our society in which women have not achieved parity. In “Our Revolution Has Just Begun” an article by Gloria Steinem, Steinem (2017) addresses the unfinished goals of the feminist movement and urges us to do whatever we can to change consciousness.

Gloria Steinem is known as an icon of femenism and a writer who revolutionized the idea of women in the working field. She is a powerful working woman that all girls, young and old, could look up to or relate to. She was an editor and writer of many papers, including her college school newspaper, Ms. Magazine, and over 19 books published with her name on the cover. Gloria steinem was a significant advocate for working females, as well as all females worldwide. She aided women’s working causes by creating Ms Foundation, which collected money. In addition, she established the WAA, a foundation that helped women work on local projects; ones that fought for equal rights and advocated against gender discrimination. Furthermore, she is known as a huge figure for support of abortion and birth control. Steinem demonstrated that women have the rights to their own body and everybody should

“Steinem became more engaged in the women’s movement after reporting on an abortion hearing given by the radical feminist group known as the Redstockings” She was also involved in the American feminist movement in the 1960’s and 1970’s. In 1971 she joined a group of feminists. Together they formed “The National Women’s Political Caucus”.

Gloria Steinem One would hope the readers of this report would appreciate how difficult it is for women even in today’s society. Gloria Steinem did, and beginning in 1972, she was indisputably one of feminism’s biggest advocates. She was a writer, lecturer, political activist, and feminist organizer (Gloria Steinem). But some might think she is not as wonderful as she is made out to be. Recently, she has been unfortunately depicted as hypocritical, sexist, and dismissive of the flaws of her own movement.

For decades, Gloria Steinem has been a source of inspiration for women and men determined to advance the path towards gender equality. While belonging to the second wave of feminism, she was one of the first feminists to highlight the intersectional character of the cause. In light of the recent events that led to the creation of the “Black Lives Matter” network and the subsequent discussion about white feminism in the US, examining the life and work of Gloria Steinem is both an opportunity and a necessary task to learn how to historically situate these recent debates.