SPEAKER_00: Hello! From Wonder Media Network, I'm Jenny Kaplan, and this is Encyclopedia Wamanica. We're concluding this month of Wamanica with a feminist icon known for her incredible reporting skills and tireless activism. She created several organizations that still provide vital work for the support of women, and she continues to be a voice for women's rights today. Let's talk about the unstoppable Gloria Steinem. And now the new form of obstructionism is to say, well, it's over, you know, just to keep you from
SPEAKER_02: doing anything more. It's so just begun. Gloria Steinem was born on March 25, 1934, in Toledo,
SPEAKER_00: Ohio. Her father was a traveling salesman, which meant Gloria didn't regularly attend school when she was young. Instead, her mother tutored her on the road and encouraged Gloria's love of books. When Gloria was 10 years old, her parents divorced. Her mother soon started suffering from a mental illness that caused hallucinations and difficulty functioning. This required Gloria to become a full-time caretaker. Gloria later remarked that her childhood caused her to grow up too soon and instilled a determination to overcome every obstacle. Gloria's older sister returned home after graduating from high school to help take care of their mother, allowing 15-year-old Gloria to attend Smith College in Massachusetts, where she studied government. After graduating with honors in 1956, Gloria earned a fellowship that allowed her to study in India for two years. Gloria's time in India was the catalyst for her love of grassroots activism. There, she traveled with local women to fight against injustices like selling low-caste women into marriage, and she absorbed the writings of Mahatma Gandhi. When Gloria returned to the U.S., she started working as a freelance journalist in New York. This was an era when newsrooms and editorial desks were run almost entirely by white men. Women were relegated to writing lifestyle or fashion pieces. At first, Gloria's career was no different. She frequently tried to suggest political ideas, but editors shut her down time and time again. Then in 1963, Gloria gained national attention when Show Magazine hired her to go undercover at a Playboy Club to report on the working conditions there. Well, they were taking anything that moves. I mean, it's, you know, it was, you know, a disaster
SPEAKER_02: as a job. And I wrote an expose of being about the working conditions. And what started out as a joke actually became something that was not so funny, even though this was before I was, you know, involved in the movie.
SPEAKER_00: At the time, waitressing at Playboy Clubs was advertised as a glamorous, exciting career opportunity for young women. But Gloria's expose, I Was a Playboy Bunny, revealed the sexist, underpaid, overworked nature of the job. Though this legendary article made Gloria a household name, she initially struggled to be taken seriously as a reporter after its release. Despite the challenge, Gloria strived to build her career, and in 1968, she helped found New York Magazine. As an editor and political writer at New York Magazine, Gloria covered campaigns and social issues like the women's liberation movement. But her involvement in the movement quickly went beyond that of a passive reporter. In 1969, she spoke publicly at an event advocating the legalization of abortion in New York. Gloria became a sought-after speaker at women's liberation protests and events. She became a spokesperson for the movement and a tireless advocate for women's rights. In 1970, feminist activists staged an 11-hour sit-in on the magazine Ladies Home Journal. 100 women marched into the office and protested the majority male staff's sexist writing and refusal to cover women's rights issues. After this landmark event, Gloria knew there was a place for a women's movement magazine. She teamed up with fellow journalists Patricia Carbine and Letty Cotton-Pagrebben to create Ms. Magazine in 1971. Ms. was initially an insert into New York Magazine, but by 1972, it became an entity of its own. Gloria would be a writer and editor for the magazine for 15 years. Gloria toured the country as a speaker, led protests, and teamed up with fellow feminists like Shirley Chisholm and Betty Friedan to create the National Women's Political Caucus. The NWPC Raises Money provides training and gathers volunteers for women candidates at state and local levels. Gloria also helped found organizations including the Women's Action Alliance, the Women's Media Center, Voters for Choice, and the Ms. Foundation for Women. She also helped create Take Our Daughters to Work Day in the 90s, which was an effort to show a variety of career opportunities to young girls. Gloria has written several books, including the best-selling memoir My Life on the Road. The book details Gloria's childhood and development as an activist alongside the burgeoning women's liberation movement. Gloria has received many honors and accolades for her activism. In 2013, President Obama granted Gloria the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
SPEAKER_01: Speaking of game changers, as a writer, a speaker, an activist, she awakened a vast and often skeptical public to problems like domestic violence, a lack of affordable child care, unfair hiring practices. Because of her work across America and around the world, more women are afforded the respect and opportunities that they deserve, but she also changed how women thought about themselves. In 2017, Rutgers University created the Gloria Steinem Endowed Chair in Media,
SPEAKER_00: Culture, and Feminist Studies. Gloria Steinem is a prominent and passionate activist for women everywhere who's helped to expand the opportunities available for women and girls across the country. This episode concludes our month all about activists, but join us tomorrow, October 1, for the beginning of a brand new theme, politicians. For more on why we're doing what we're doing, check out our newsletter, Womanaka Weekly. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram at Encyclopedia Womanaka, and follow me directly on Twitter at Jenny M. Kaplan. Special thanks to my favorite sister and co-creator Liz Kaplan. Talk to you tomorrow. I want to tell you about another podcast I think you'll love. We hear about trans people in the news all the time, but we almost never hear trans people telling their own stories. The Translash Podcast with Imara Jones is changing that by creating a space that centers the voices of trans people in conversations about news, politics, and culture. It's hosted by Imara Jones, a Peabody and Emmy Award winner. She's also a Black trans woman and a journalist, and Imara understands that trans people telling their own stories and having a voice in the conversation that affects them will save trans lives. So if you're trans and looking for a news and culture show that centers you or an ally who wants to learn more, check out The Translash Podcast. You can hear a new episode every other Thursday. Subscribe to The Translash Podcast wherever you listen.
