As a women’s studies major I have always been introduced to the works of Gloria Steinem, and her work is very interesting. Gloria Steinem is a feminist activist who focuses her activism in many areas of the social justice spectrum. She is also an author with many published works. One of my favorite pieces by her is an article from the October 1978 issue of Ms. Magazine: If Men Could Menstruate. This was a short piece about what the world would be like if males menstruated instead of females, it pokes fun at men and patriarchal ideals in society.
Gloria Steinem is one of the co-founders of Ms. Magazine, a prominent feminist magazine which had its beginnings in the early 1970s. I have yet to purchase a hard copy of this magazine, but I do frequently visit the Ms. Magazine blog website for my daily feminist news stories. As a previous blog post of mine mentions, I am not a fan of popular magazines, but Ms. Magazine is an exception to this. Ms. presents the type of magazine I wish all magazines were, a magazine which is dedicated to the empowerment of women and not the degradation of women.
When I look at prominent feminists like Gloria Steinem, I am often left wondering whether or not I fit as a feminist because I have not been as active as those types of feminists. I think this is a misconception I have regarding feminism, the misconception that you need to be an active activist to be a feminist. But as I re-evaluate my interpretations of feminism I begin to understand that you do not need to be like Gloria Steinem or others like her, in order to be a true feminist. What you need is a belief in the equality of women and the end of all oppressions.
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