Human history should include women’s history. But because that isn’t yet the case, celebrating women’s history is a window into a world as if women mattered. Each week on Substack throughout Women’s History Month, I will share pieces from my archives that I hope contribute to opening our eyes and hearts to a more complete record of the past. Find the first installation at the link in my bio. Photograph of unknown woman at the International Women’s Day March in New York City on March 8, 1975. From the archives of @gloriasfoundation
Gisèle Pelicot has became a voice for victims of all forms of abuse, and a global symbol of strength and survival. Each of us learns and leads by example. Gisèle has led us, and it’s up to us to learn. You can read my tribute to Gisèle Pelicot for #TIME100 at the link in my bio. Photo: Clement Mahoudeau — AFP/Getty Images, via Time
I found my remarks from my 90th birthday gathering one year ago today — which was only possible due to the magic of my friend @darrenwalker! I’m celebrating at home this year, but still making good on the promise in my speech — my new goal is to reach 130! Photo by Kisha Bari
I found my remarks from my 90th birthday gathering one year ago today — which was only possible due to the magic of my friend @darrenwalker! I’m celebrating at home this year, but still making good on the promise in my speech — my new goal is to reach 130! Photo by Kisha Bari
I first discovered the great problem of history only telling stories through the dominant lens when I lived in India for two years after college and visited with Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, a colleague of Gandhi’s and a founder of the nationwide handicraft movement. This week on Substack, I’m sharing the story of how tea with Kamaladevi transformed my understanding of women’s history. You can find it at the link in my bio. Photograph in India, 1950s. Unknown photographer. From the archives of @gloriasfoundation
In honor of #DearMsARevolutionInPrint premiering on @streamonmax this week, I’m revisiting an article I wrote for the magazine in 1990 that illustrates one of the challenges and triumphs of 𝘔𝘴. — figuring out how to get ads and stay afloat financially without compromising on our editorial content. Read “Sex, Lies & Advertising” via Substack at the link in my bio. Image is Miller & Swift’s definition of “Ms.” From the archives of @gloriasfoundation
When a group of us got together in 1971 to create 𝘔𝘴., the first national women’s magazine written and run by women, we couldn’t have predicted the impact it would have. Today, it is an honor that #DearMsARevolutionInPrint will be available to watch on @streamonmax. 𝘔𝘴. became a contagion for truth-telling, and 𝘔𝘴. staffers and readers were and are my family. Thank you to the 3 directors for capturing the chaos, the tensions, and, yes, the beauty of what we created. After the first issue sold out in 8 days, the overwhelming response was “At last, I know I’m not alone.” 53 years later, I hope this film has the same affirming effect on you. Photograph by Jenny Warburg
I’m honored to be included in the inaugural issue of @theshiftison alongside 90 other women making the world a better place for everyone! Featured in these photos: @billieeilish @lucyliu @therealmariskahargitay @amandascgorman @oliviarodrigo @melindafrenchgates Vicky Tsai @tatcha @lola.tung @billiejeanking Amal Clooney @clooneyfoundationforjustice @shilpay @livinlikelarz @deepikapadukone @selenagomez @trishashetty @officialvictoriajackson & Michele Anthony Photographs by @inezandvinoodh Skincare by @tatcha Makeup by @danielmartin Hair by John D’Orazio Salon Jewelry by @shiffonco Production by @michael.gleeson @makroop @vlmstudio
Ms. wasn’t just a magazine–it was a revolution. Witness the stories behind the headlines–and the covers that changed everything. #msmagazine #gloriasteinem #DearMsARevolutionInPrint starts streaming today at 9pm ET on @streamonmax.
In 2022, I was honored to give a speech celebrating Cecile Richards at the Ford Foundation. These are the notes from that night, which include my favorite personal memory with Cecile: being on a Midwest road trip with her and two young organizers, who started out shy but ended with new confidence thanks to Cecile’s encouragement. We have so much to thank Cecile for. She was a grassroots organizer and a global champion of reproductive justice. As I wrote in these notes, if Cecile didn’t exist, no one could have invented someone like her!
bell hooks lived her revolution every day, not just in the classroom or on the page. Indeed, watching bell’s example of living fully in the present is one of my most valuable learnings. In 2022, I shared a tribute to bell organized by Berea College. This week on Substack, I am sharing the notes I prepared, which became that tribute. I hope in challenging moments, anyone reading this joins me in asking: What would bell do? Photograph by Jenny Warburg
The best way to conclude Women’s History Month… sharing the ritual of a Talking Circle with old and new friends! This group came together to discuss women’s leadership and philanthropy thanks to @olivela — a women-led company that contributes a portion of every purchase to great causes. They lead by example and show us how impact and community can be built into everything we do. At the link in my bio, you can shop and 20% of the net proceeds from your purchase will support @gloriasfoundation or you can choose from many other organizations that work towards gender equality! Photo by @giamckenna
This week on Substack, I’ve unearthed my 1973 tribute to Erma Henderson, a great Detroit leader who was one of the first to really bring the labor movement and women’s movement together. Erma’s leadership and coalition-building continues to be a model for anyone working towards equality and against racism and sexism. Find the piece at the link in my bio. Photograph of Erma Henderson, Gloria Steinem, Mildred Jeffrey, Edith Van Horn and others in Detroit, 1980s. Photographer unknown. From the archives of @gloriasfoundation
This letter and and newspaper clipping have been hanging in my apartment since I received them in 1971. My friend and often speaking partner Flo Kennedy met with this group of waitresses after one of our speaking events in California. It is a reminder of the circumstances women have faced and continue to face in the workplace, and also the best encouragement to keep fighting! I’m honored that my apartment is filled with reminders like these. Over the coming weeks, I’ll be sharing the stories of some of them on Substack. Photograph of a framed clipping of The Staff from October 1971, with a typed note to Gloria Steinem from Café Figaro’s “Subversive Seven.” Photograph by Katie Lyman. From the archives of @gloriasfoundation
In 1913, Senator Atlee Pomerene sent this letter to my grandmother, Pauline Perlmutter Steinem, who had written to him reporting about inadequate police protection at a suffrage march. It is a reminder of the violence suffragists often faced, but also for me, it is a reminder of the stories we aren’t told about women, even in our own families. This week on Substack, I’m sharing discoveries of my own family history that taught me about women’s history and the politics of all history. You can find them at the link in my bio. Letter from Senator Atlee Pomerene to Pauline Perlmutter Steinem dated March 13, 1913. From the archives of @gloriasfoundation
Almost a year ago, @justbobbidotcom gathered a group of women for a talking circle in my living room to launch the @jonesroadbeauty ‘I Am Me’ campaign which is all about confidence and being our unique selves. Now, she has created a video series to open that circle to everyone on the web! I sat down with Bobbi for the very first episode which you can watch on Jones Road’s YouTube channel now.
Thank you @thepersistnetwork for gathering a group of women together to connect and strengthen our movement coalitions. I had the greatest honor of sharing the stage with @ashleylavernejackson so I know the future is in good hands! Photo Credit: @jenlynnephoto
Thank you @thepersistnetwork for gathering a group of women together to connect and strengthen our movement coalitions. I had the greatest honor of sharing the stage with @ashleylavernejackson so I know the future is in good hands! Photo Credit: @jenlynnephoto
This month on Substack, I will be sharing pieces from my archives that highlight Black feminist organizers who have meant a lot to me, and whose impact on the world keeps me hopeful for our future. By contributing some of my own experiences from the past, I hope feminism can come closer to its purpose of challenging all false hierarchies. See the link in my bio for the first installment of this month’s series. Photo: “‘Revolution’s’ Words Inspire” by Donna Sammons published in The Herald Dispatch Tri-State Scene on May 3, 1976. From the archives of @gloriasfoundation
I wish I could imitate the Chinese women letter writers of at least a thousand years ago. They were forbidden to go to school like their brothers, so they invented their own script: Nüshu. This embroidered example was gifted to me by my great friend Wilma Mankiller. It hangs on my wall as a daily reminder of courage, creativity, and sisterhood. Read more on Substack at the link in my bio. Photograph of embroidered Nüshu writing gifted from Wilma Mankiller to Gloria Steinem. From the archives of @gloriasfoundation
Though it’s been many years since my father was with us, I think about him every day. This letter framed is prominently placed in my apartment as a great illustration of who my father Leo was. He was always dreaming up some new idea or invention. I’m sharing more about my father on Substack at the link in my bio. Photograph is a letter from Leo Steinem to Lili St. Cyr on his ‘It’s Steinemite’ business letterhead. Unknown date. From the archives of @gloriasfoundation
Seeing my mother’s published writings hang on my apartment walls, I am reminded of the woman the world missed out on — and how many more like her had to sacrifice their unique selves. She had once been a pioneering woman reporter, but gave up the work she loved to support my father’s dreams. I’m sharing more about my mother and her writing on Substack at the link in my bio. Photograph is a framed article called “We Come Home” by Ruth Nuneviller Steinem, published in Satsang Vol. 2 No. 13 on November 21, 1974. From the archives of @gloriasfoundation
Aileen Hernandez was the woman who could solve anything. Indeed, when a group of women from across the country gathered in 1971 to organize an electoral arm of the women’s movement, Aileen’s wisdom and leadership made sure the meeting was effective. Without Aileen, there wouldn’t have been the National Women’s Political Caucus. This week on Substack, I’m sharing a speech I delivered at Aileen’s Celebration of Life in 2017. Whether this piece reminds you of her legacy or introduces you to it, I hope we all pledge to honor Aileen’s contributions to justice by standing up for institutions like the EEOC that are under attack right now. Without telling Aileen’s story and the stories of other great Black path breakers, we render invisible the African-American women who disproportionately led the feminist movement. My hope is we all understand who was really there and work together to safeguard their contributions to justice. Image: Handwritten speech by Gloria Steinem for Aileen Hernandez’s Celebration of Life in 2017. From the archives of @gloriasfoundation
This week on Substack, I’m sharing a review I wrote in 1968 of 𝘉𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘍𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘦: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘊𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘒𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘞𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘋𝘰𝘸𝘯 by Caroline Bird with Sarah Welles Briller. I wrote this a year before I attended an abortion speak-out in a church basement, an experience I now describe as my feminist “click” moment! See the full piece at the link in my bio. Image is an original clipping of ‘Anonymous’ Was a Woman by Gloria Steinem for the New York Times Book Review, August 11, 1968. From the archives of @gloriasfoundation
