Our team had the honor of meeting feminist leader, Gloria Steinem, when she was given the first annual Helen Gordon Davis Women’s Leadership Award. We decided to share how three members of our team, all different generations of women, were impacted by Steinem’s speech.
Lisa Brock
The opportunity to meet and introduce Gloria Steinem trumps any professional experience I have ever experienced. But I am glad that when the opportunity presented itself, I was able to help bring her to Tampa so that everyone I care for had the chance to hear what this modern day feminist had to say. I only wish every single young woman I know had been in that room.
I am not a person who cares much for or about celebrity as it has become known. But I have always admired the thinkers and doers. The bold ones who see and MAKE a better way for others. And Gloria Steinem, for me, is personal. As a young girl, I heard my Grandmother reference her in a remark where she was expressing fear that I was “liable to turn into” Ms. Steinem. At the time I had no idea who she was talking about but it did not take me long to find out or to wonder why my Grandmother made her remark in such a worried/judgmental voice. In the deep south, the idea of a woman who would stand up and speak her nontraditional mind – well, my Grandmother already knew more about me than I knew about my 9 or 10 year old self. The funny thing is that I never understood the fuss. Everything she said made absolute perfect sense.
Still, sometimes the ‘real life’ person doesn’t quite measure up to the one we read about. But what I heard in her voice, in her manner, was more than filling. She had maturity. Wisdom. A sense of humor. A serenity or grace that I can’t imagine ANY rational person arguing with. The room fell to a respectful – reverent even – quiet when she spoke and she gave us so much history, anthropology, perspective and feminist point-of-view. She was over 80 but she was so alive and so warmed by the discussion she had with the group at large and in the more intimate discussions.
I am not sure I will ever be as moved or that the words of another will ever sit with me in quite the same way. There was only one thing I wanted to ask but didn’t. Late in life, Gloria Steinem married. Sadly, and I remember reading this and feeling so profoundly sad…her husband died after about three years of married life, from cancer. I was very curious about how marriage worked into her view of feminism. For me it has always been in sync but I married someone who ‘gets it’ and doesn’t give equality a second thought. But I admit – I am very curious about what she might have said. But I didn’t want to remind her of a loss…especially after all she gave me that day.
Wendy Scolaro
I was born in the late seventies and had heard of Gloria Steinem, her social and political activism, and particularly her involvement in the movement for gender equality. It was an honor to have the opportunity to hear her speak. I felt she spoke with an air of both confidence and humility, a rare combination. During the Q&A session she was asked in-depth, thought-provoking questions.
What I found remarkable was her ability to involve those around her and inspire action. In response to the questions from the audience, she was clearly a voice of authority; even more though, I felt that she went beyond merely offering suggestions about how to change the injustices we see around us in the world, but that she gave a sense of ownership to the group, to each individual – encouraging us to get involved and start making changes ourselves, beginning in our homes and with our local and state levels of government.
Paige Strott
I developed my interest in politics in high school, after inspiring teachers showed me that what is personal is political. Through my own studies, I discovered the challenging and necessary charge made by women to have their voices heard. No one stuck out to me as much as Gloria Steinem. To me, she personifies the fight for personal and political equality for women.
I was blown away by the way Steinem spoke and how knowledgeable she was on a wide variety of issues. She spoke of the importance of taking women’s issues to state legislatures because they have more control over policy than many people think. She answered questions on everything from sexual assault to foreign policy, while speaking with grace and humility.
It is fascinating to see what becomes of leaders who start their efforts being labeled radicals like Steinem did. Sadly, for Steinem the things that were said about her 50 years ago are still being said. I hope that my generation takes the notion that feminism is radical and puts it to bed. And after listening to Steinem, I feel even more dedicated to helping that effort.