25th Day of Women's History Month: Gloria Steinem

"A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle."
"Some of us are becoming the men we wanted to marry."
Another quote, oft-repeated by Ms. Steinem, but actually first said by Florynce Kennedy:  "If men could get pregnant, abortion would be a sacrament."
It's hard to believe Gloria Steinem was born in 1934--today is her 80th birthday!  She graduated from Smith College in 1956; she first gained attention as a writer for Show magazine when, in 1963, she went undercover as a "bunny" in a New York City Playboy Club.  By 1968, due in part to her coverage of the Democratic National Convention, she was seen as a bright young journalist.  But according to Steinem, her feminist conversion was clinched as she covered abortion law hearings in New York in 1968.  "I will never forget that night as long as I live, because I heard women stand up and tell the truth in public for the first time in my life.  For me, that was the moment when the light bulb began to come on."  She started to write about women's rights with increasing passion, even going public with the story of the abortion she had endured in utter solitude when she was 22.
According to her official website, Gloria Steinem "is a writer, lecturer, editor, and feminist activist. She
travels in this and other countries as an organizer and lecturer and is a frequent media spokeswoman on issues of equality. She is particularly interested in the shared origins of sex and race caste systems, gender roles and child abuse as roots of violence, non-violent conflict resolution, the cultures of indigenous peoples, and organizing across boundaries for peace and justice."
For me, Gloria Steinem was the first feminist I could identify, probably because she was so scorned and derided by men who were uncomfortable with the truth she was speaking.  I'll never forget a time when I was in college (and I was a budding feminist)--I must have said something that my 21-years-older brother didn't agree with.  He looked at me and said, "Don't be like Gloria Steinem.  She will die a bitter and lonely woman."  I was shocked, but determined to be more like the strong woman I knew her to be.  She was the voice and face of a movement that my mother, and so many women of that generation, quietly embraced.  They had much to lose (jobs, children, child support) by being an out-spoken anything, but Gloria Steinem seemed fearless, and bravely stood for those who couldn't stand up for themselves.  She still does.
I'm not sure when I started my subscription to Ms. Magazine, but I do know I learned so much from the pages of Gloria Steinem's "baby" (she founded the magazine in 1972); far more than I learned from some of my college courses.
We must remember, must laud these women who have gone before us--they have parted many waters, have fought many battles, have made it easier for all of us.  Yes, all of us--Gloria Steinem, the feminist humanist, would be the first to point out that the liberation of women will, in the end, liberate men as well.