GLORIA STEINEM 3 Gloria Steinem once said, “Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning.” This quote accurately sums up the type of character that Steinem has shown her whole life. She lived, and is still living a life full of adventure, travel, and activism. Gloria Steinem is a fantastic role model for the women of today; her resiliency despite an unconventional childhood, strong will, and outright courage will be admired for generations to come. Gloria Steinem had a very atypical life from a young age. She was born in Toledo, Ohio on March 25, 1934. Steinem traveled in a house trailer with her parents for much of her childhood (“Gloria Steinem …show more content…
Gloria returned in 1958 and moved to New York after a short visit to see her family in Washington, D.C. (Lazo, 1998). It proved difficult to find a satisfying journalism job, as men typically covered the types of subjects Gloria wanted to report on (Lazo, 1998). Steinem accepted a job in Cambridge, Massachusetts with the Independent Research Service, an educational foundation to recruit American students to talk about democracy at international Communist youth festivals (Lazo, 1998). Her mission was to promote democracy and spread its components throughout the world (Lazo, 1998). Steinem returned to New York in 1960, a decision that proved to be extremely smart (Lazo, …show more content…
Betty Friedan published The Feminine Mystique in 1963 (Lazo, 1998). Friedan wrote about educated, middle class homemakers, many of whom felt caught in a life without rewarding work or a sense of self worth (Lazo, 1998). Women felt the call to rise up after reading Friedan’s book. Many believe that Betty Friedan began the second wave of feminism in America (Lazo, 1998). Steinem did not agree with Friedan’s exclusion of minorities. Gloria wanted to take a stand to help all women. In 1966, she cofounded the National Organization for Women (Lazo, 1998). NOW was inclusive to all groups (Lazo, 1998). Steinem had to overcome her fear of public speaking in order to promote NOW (Lazo,1998). The cause was so important to her, she was able to overcome her fear and spread her message (Lazo, 1998). Steinem transformed into a powerful public speaker, traveling with the likes of Dorothy Pittman Hughes, Florynce Kennedy, and Margaret Sloan (Lazo, 1998). Gloria’s travels proved to be trying, yet