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Ms. at 40 and the Future of Feminism keynote addresses reproductive rights, linking movements, power of humor
by Lily Bixler on Tuesday, February 21, 2012 - 8:00am For Gloria Steinem, learning and laughter are intrinsically linked. Einstein, she told audiences at her Jan. 26 talk at Stanford University, supposedly took care while shaving because if he thought of something new, he would laugh and cut himself. You cannot compel laughter, she said. It comes when two things come together suddenly. Theres this kind of 'pop.' During Steinems talk on the future of feminism to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Ms. magazine, the feminist leader harnessed the power of both learning and laughter to inspire in students, professors and community members such a pop. As a testament to her accessible articulation of the gender inequality of our time, Steinems audience was simultaneously captivated by her wisdom and tickled by her sharp wit. As American Studies Program Director Shelley Fisher Fishkin said in her introduction, Steinem's sense of humor reminds us of the silliness of the status quo. In Steinems hands, Fisher Fishkin went on, humor became a weapon of mass construction. Steinems lecture was the keynote event for a quarter-long symposium called Ms. at 40 and the Future of Feminism. Thirty-four groups sponsored the winter quarter events, including the Clayman Institute for Gender Research and the programs in American Studies and Feminist Studies. Clayman Institute Director Shelley Correll said the symposium was meant to inspire conversation about the future of feminism and explore the ways feminism can help understand and solve the pressing problems of the United States and the world, especially those that impact girls and women.
While at times referencing the past, Steinems talk mostly looked to the future. She spoke of how we got in this jam, outlining the dangers of limiting womens reproductive rights. She highlighted various myths about feminism, the history of organizing around womens issues, global violence against women, the economic value of caregiving and the necessity of linking social justice movements.
A global symptom
Steinem went on to say that the countries with the least democracy in public life are likewise the countries with the least democracy between men and women in domestic life. She contended that the genderized nature of academic studies prohibits us from realizing how a working democracy relies on gender equality. You cannot have a democracy without democratic families, she said. You can't have a democracy without the female half of the country. Steinem thinks we fell into this rhythm when men took away womens natural right to control their own reproduction. Those cults of masculinity and femininity grew, she said.
She quoted the late Swedish political leader Olof Palme, who said gender roles are the deepest cause of violence on earth and therefore it was the job of every government to humanize those roles. The feminist movement, Steinem added, is directed at making reproductive freedom a fundamental human right, like freedom of speech and freedom of assembly. All the movements are damaged when reproductive freedom does not exist, she said. We should know that in this country. A thread that weaved through the talk was the need to link movements. The gay and lesbian movements, the environmental movement, the feminist movement, and civil rights movements are all deeply linked, she said. Once we see that linkage, we become each other's allies and we become much more effective, she said. She added that those involved in social justice movements need to take responsibility for a historic failure to emphasize the linkage among themselves. While naming is important for any movement, she said, categories can be the enemy of connection.
For over four decades Gloria Steinem has been at the forefront of the womens movement as a journalist, publisher, author, and political activist. She is the co-founder and first editor of Ms. Magazine, and was instrumental in founding a dozen other womens organizations including the National Womens Political Caucus, the Womens Action Alliance, the Coalition of Labor Union Women, the Ms. Foundation for Women, Choice USA, and the Womens Media Center. Beyond the womens movement, Steinem has been active internationally working for civil rights, gay rights, and animal rights; and in anti-war movements. She is the author of seven books, and the subject of two biographies. For more information visit http://www.gloriasteinem.com/ Lily Bixler is a Bay Area journalist and a media consultant with Stanford Universitys Clayman Institute on Gender Research, writing articles for Gender News and pitching stories to media outlets.
Founded in 1974, the Clayman Institute for Gender Research at Stanford University creates knowledge and seeks to implement change that promotes gender equality at Stanford, nationally, and internationally.
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