Today Gloria Steinem is a year older. I have really enjoyed reading about Gloria Steinem, and her life and work. I can relate to many of her experiences, and I just find her to be very funny. My illustration of her is one of my favorites so far.
Gloria is a writer, organizer and activist, who confronted the cultural beliefs of the time about women’s roles in families and society. She graduated from Smith College, and was selected for a two year fellowship in India. Steinem’s experience in India made her aware of the extent of human suffering in the world, and the privilege she had experienced growing up in America. She returned to the US with a strong sense of social justice, determined to make a difference. Beginning work as a freelance journalist, she became deeply involved in the political movements that were stirring thousands of her generation into action. Her quick wit, good sense of humor, and fiery comebacks gained media attention, and she was able to shine a more positive light on the feminist movement than other feminist leaders during the time, making feminism more mainstream.
Some of the accomplishments of the Second Wave of Feminism include:
-Women gaining control over when they choose to have children, giving them more time to pursue a college education and a career.
-Employers being prohibited from hiring only men, and other types of gender discrimination in the workplace. This resulted in more opportunities for women within professions that had previously been dominated by men.
-Laws were passed making domestic abuse illegal, and making it easier for women to obtain a divorce.
-A more widespread and accepted belief that women should have autonomy and freedom over their choices, as well as equal rights with men.