Gloria Steinem, a Feminist Icon, Discusses the Danger of the Desire to Control Women's Reproductive Rights

At 89 years old, Gloria Steinem, a feminist icon, writer, and magazine editor, has no plans to retire from her long career of challenging the status quo. Over 50 years ago, she co-founded the Women's Action Alliance, a group dedicated to fighting sexism. Steinem became the face of the women's liberation movement in the United States for the remainder of the 20th century. She started her career as a journalist in New York in the 1970s and later co-founded Ms. magazine, one of the first publications to focus on issues other than housekeeping and the beauty industry. Her apartment on Manhattan's Upper East Side is filled with artifacts from her travels. While she still travels occasionally, she is mostly settled in New York and is happy to be in her neighborhood. Steinem's apartment also serves as the headquarters for her foundation, Gloria's Foundation, and as a space for women, journalists, activists, and community leaders to gather. She has been named one of the BBC's 100 Women for 2023. Throughout the 1970s, Steinem was one of the leading voices in the campaign for women's reproductive rights. She celebrated the US Supreme Court's 1973 ruling in Roe v Wade, which granted women the constitutional right to abortion. However, she witnessed the reversal of this decision last year, which ended the nationwide right to abortion. Steinem emphasizes the importance of women being able to determine the fate of their own bodies and calls for continued activism. Steinem admires the successful campaigns for legal abortion in Latin American countries and believes that using our voices, protesting with our bodies, and supporting other women is what the revolution is all about. Reproductive freedom is a basic right, according to Steinem, and progress has been made in the US, such as an increase in women's voter turnout. However, she acknowledges that there is still work to be done. She closely monitors women's rights worldwide, including the curtailment of freedoms in countries like Iran and Afghanistan. She believes that the protests by Iranian women fighting for self-determination and the right to their bodies are part of a feminist revolution. Steinem recognizes that Western feminism has been criticized for its lack of inclusivity, particularly concerning race. She acknowledges this criticism and emphasizes the importance of representing all women affected by specific issues. During the pandemic, Steinem has embraced the opportunities to connect remotely and reach a wider audience through the internet and social media. However, she is concerned about the discriminatory nature of the internet and the greater access to technology that men often have. Steinem also expresses concern about cancel culture and its impact on free speech. She believes that it is not women's responsibility to make men embrace feminism and that change must start within our own homes. Despite her busy schedule, Steinem is grateful to be home more and has turned her living room into a space for open discussions. She sees revolution as a fluid concept that can take different forms but remains the same at its core.