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1945 Gloria's parents get divorced
In 1945 Gloria's parents split up. Ruth, Gloria's mother, was a journalist writing under a man's name. When the family household became the priority, Ruth had to give up her career. Giving this up led Ruth into a deep depression and hallucinations. Ruth's mental health saw a steep decline which left Gloria as the caregiver for her mother and keeper of the house. https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/steinem-gloria#pid-11023 -
Effects of Parent's divorce
I feel like Gloria saw the effects of gender inequality on her mother. I think this inspired Gloria to want to intervene and fix these issues so no other person would have to suffer as her mom did. This also put Gloria into a leadership position early in life, this helped build her confidence to fight opposition she saw early in her career and later in life. https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/gloria-steinem -
1956 Gloria had an abortion
After graduating college, high honors, Gloria was awarded a fellowship allowing her to travel abroad for two years. Gloria traveled all around India. But before she could travel to India she had to work in London and await a travel Visa. While working as a waitress, she became pregnant and mae the decision to get an abortion. https://www.npr.org/2021/12/09/1062791724/activist-gloria-steinem-reflects-on-abortion-rights-as-they-hang-in-the-balance -
Effect of Abortion
It was during this time that she realized that this is where the foundation of gender equality stems from. Hierarchies are always trying to dictate reproductive rights. "It should be taken for granted because if we don't have control of our own physical selves, we don't have a democracy". This event inspired Steinem to lead the fight to legalize abortions. Make it safe, legal, and available. I believe this event catapulted her into the feminism movement. -
Effects of Chester Bowles Fellowship
Gloria's time in India was the inspiration for her love and dedication to grassroots organizations. This was the ground work for her work in Women's Liberation and the Equal Rights Amendment. Learning about the "untouchables" opened Steinem's eyes to the imbalance in the class structure and the mistreatment of the lower classes. -
1956 Chester Bowles Fellowship
Gloria worked extremely hard to get good grades in high school which allowed her to get a college education. After college graduation, Gloria was awarded the Chester Bowles Fellowship. The fellowship covered the costs for Gloria to travel around India for two years studying the culture. https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/steinem-gloria#pid-11023 -
Effects of "I Was a Playboy Bunny"
I believe that this was an influential event in Steinem's journey into gender equality advocacy, because she experienced first hand the mistreatment of women in the service industry. She was exposed to be seen as a sex object, harassed, and underpaid. This event also helped create a name for herself. While she could still be an active member of the movement, it was her notoriety that brought weight to platforms she spoke for. -
1963 "I Was a Playboy Bunny"
In 1963, Gloria attained National Attention for the first time. She wrote an expose about the sexist mistreatment of Hugh Hefner's bunny waitresses. After this article Steinem found it difficult to be taken seriously at her current employer of the time. Steinbeck founded New York Magazine and was a head editor. https://www.gloriasteinem.com/about