Gloria Steinem, Constitution March 1978, Washington DC. To pass Equal Rights Amendment
As Gloria Steinem expounded on the virtue of equality and the benefits for both men and women, she also changed my family dynamic forever.
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Gloria Steinem is a feminist civil rights activist who has had a remarkable impact on my life, and on my mom’s life. Before Gloria Steinem was known nationwide, she had attended a seminar created by the Constitutional Rights Foundation in 1970, for which my mom volunteered. At the time, Steinem was an editor for New York Magazine, and attended the conference to speak about women’s rights. It was because of Gloria Steinem, one of my mom’s heroes, that she was inspired to become a lawyer after quitting professional tennis. She also wanted to raise kids along with her career, so she ended up becoming a successful lawyer, and my dad became a stay-at-home parent to raise me and my sister. My mom later met Gloria again more than four decades later, and told her what a profound impact she’d had on her life.
Many people said that the women’s rights movement ended after the 19th amendment, when women were given the right to vote and run for public office. However, a large percentage of women were also given smaller salaries than men with the same job; they were not expected by society to become doctors and lawyers, and were instead expected to be stay-at-home moms or secretaries.
In 1978, Gloria Steinem marched with thousands of other activists in hopes of passing the Equal Rights Amendment.
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In 1978, Gloria Steinem marched with thousands of other activists in hopes of passing the Equal Rights Amendment. The Equal Rights Amendment was an expansion of the 19th amendment. The first article of the proposed Equal Rights Amendment stated: “Equality of rights under the law shall not be abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” The amendment was originally proposed in 1923, but it still hasn’t passed.
In the picture above, we see from left to right Gloria Steinem, Dick Gregory, Betty Friedan and two congresswomen. This was a very powerful image to me because it demonstrated how far women’s rights have come in America, and how they still have a long way to go. In the picture, there are two congresswomen and a third off to the right side of the photograph who can’t be seen. One hundred years prior, a female congresswoman would have been unknown, and yet that day there were three. Even then, it’s shocking that an amendment based on equality didn’t pass in a country with equality as a founding principle.
The fact that both men and women marched for gender equality showed that both feminism and the Equal rights Amendment was not just about women, but as America as a whole.
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One other thing that I thought was moving about this picture was that men such as Dick Gregory marched as well. The fact that both men and women marched for gender equality showed that both feminism and the Equal Rights Amendment was not just about women, but America as a whole. Feminism is also about men being able to be stay-at-home parents and breaking down gender roles that society expects for men. Gloria was marching for the women who were objectified as tools for cooking, cleaning and sex; Gloria was marching for women who never became good at math because society told them that girls couldn’t become physicists and engineers; Gloria was marching for all the women who were forced to marry because they couldn’t find work. Equality was what the Equal Rights Amendment stood for, and equality is what the United States stands for.
The Equal Rights Amendment had passed in Congress, but it needed at least 38 states to ratify the Amendment by 1982. Steinem and other feminists marched in the capital to support the Amendment. The campaigners were a few states shy of passing the Amendment in 1978. Campaigners in Illinois who were against the Amendment put signs on little girls saying “Don’t draft me.” Ultimately, only 35 of the required 38 states ratified the Amendment.
Although the Amendment never passed, Gloria Steinem had an enormous impact on the feminist movement.
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Although the Amendment never passed, Gloria Steinem had an enormous impact on the feminist movement. She became a national leader for gender equality, and inspired people to become active supporters of equal rights for both women and men. She co-founded Ms. magazine in 1971, and more recently, President Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Today, many people who misunderstand the feminist movement assume that it’s a radical anti-male movement, and it is fueled by “crazy women burning their bras and saying they don’t like or need men.” The true concept of feminism is about choice. If a woman wants to become a doctor, she should be able to, and receive the same salary as a man. Men should also have the choice to be stay-at-home dads if they wish to.
Steinem once said that many women are now becoming the men they wanted to marry. A lot of people speculated that this meant women shouldn’t ever marry men, but her actual intent was to say that many women who wanted to marry doctors and lawyers, could become doctor or lawyers themselves.
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Steinem once said that many women are now becoming the men they wanted to marry. A lot of people speculated that this meant women shouldn’t ever marry men, but her actual intent was to say that many women who wanted to marry doctors and lawyers, could become doctors or lawyers themselves. A woman shouldn’t have to get married for economic reasons; a woman should get married because she wants to.
Gloria has had an amazing impact on my family. The voters against the Equal Rights Amendment said that it would tear apart American families, but even though it never passed, feminism has had the opposite effect on my family; it made us whole.
Source: 30dB.com – Gender Equality
Gloria Steinem and My Mom, Jane Tishkoff
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Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons and courtesy of the author
In the immortal words of Bill Cage, “What does it matter. They’re winning. Whatever it is they want, they’re gonna get it.”
Actual gender equality is of course a good thing for everyone. Sadly, an ideology based on the privileging of only one gender will not yield equality.
“Even then, it’s shocking that an amendment based on equality didn’t pass in a country with equality as a founding principle.” Yup, it’s even more surprising that when equality is actually achieved they same people demanding equality suddenly decide it’s a bad thing after all because it’s inconvenient. Here’s a story concerning California’s Unruh act and how now many feminists want to change it. http://news.yahoo.com/this-california-law-is-helping-men-213035804.html That’s just the latest thing. Some women only health clubs ran into the issue as well. http://articles.philly.com/1990-11-29/news/25928739_1_fitness-centers-women-only-health-female-members Of course it’s only MRAs trying to get ladies night banned. With far too many people, equality is… Read more »
Despite giving us the dictionary definition of feminism again, this article like many others before it, ignores that when it really comes down to it many feminists do not want to give up female gender privilege for all the equality in the world.
Seriously?
To tout this “Steinem once said that many women are now becoming the men they wanted to marry.” is an insult to most men who read GMP …
Very disappointing
I don’t see why, the women referred int the article are those who instead of marrying men they admire, chose to become the person they wanted to be and to admire. Instead of helping and supporting someone to reach their dreams and goals, decided to follow their own. For a person to achieve that noble goal of becoming the best person he/she can be I would never feel insulted.