Gloria Steinem Changed My Life

I don’t ordinarily wear this hat, but it was raining in California the night Gloria Steinem died, and I found myself thinking that maybe the world was crying. Gloria was 92, but to me, she was taken from us way too soon. You can divide your life in many ways, and in mine there is a very clear line: the world before Gloria Steinem, and the world after Gloria Steinem. She gave voice to my generation of women, but more than that, she gave us courage. When I saw her walk to a podium and speak, I believed I could change the world. I believed I could be anything I wanted to be.

When I was a young woman, I wanted to be a doctor. But I understood that choosing a career might mean making what I called a “devil’s bargain” - giving up the possibility of a family because I didn’t think I had the courage to withstand the anger, harassment, scorn and contempt that women faced when they tried to build both a career and a life. Then came Gloria, and the women’s movement of the 1960s. She helped us understand that the choices we had been told were inevitable did not have to be the choices we accepted. The fight for women’s rights, feminism, equality, and freedom was not going to be easy or quick. But Gloria understood that women are in it for the long haul.

What I remember most is not simply Gloria Steinem the feminist icon, journalist, activist, or leader of the women’s liberation movement. I remember what she made me feel: that I was not alone. That there were other women out there who had my back. That together, through sisterhood and through the simple things we do every day, we might actually change the world for our daughters, our sons, and everyone who comes after us. Gloria, thank you for putting us on your shoulders. We will never forget you.