There’s no other way to describe Gloria Steinem’s feminism than simply remarkable.
A pioneering force in the movement over the past 50 years, the contributing editor of Ms Magazine and the writer of seminal essay After Black Power, Women's Liberation, Steinem has used her role as a trailblazing force to spur on the momentum of achieving real equality.
And in her latest talk at the Winning Play$ panel, Black Women, Feminism, and Empowerment, Steinem reminded her audience about the black feminists who taught her about the cause, and the stark lack of credit these women have received.
Talking about the Black Lives Matter movement, Steinem added that she was “inspired” by the three women, Opal Tometi, Alicia Garza and Patrisse Collors who pioneered the activist force.
“I think that they have created a more inclusive movement because they are aware that sexism and racism is intertwined and you can’t uproot one without uprooting the other. But, it’s still true that they don’t get enough credit,” she said.
As well as this, Steinem made it clear that feminism simply isn’t feminism if it is just about the concerns of white women.
“I’m very inspired by them [the Black Lives Matter founders],” Steinem told news site TheGrio. “People talk to me about white feminism, and I say, ‘Are you kidding me?’ If it’s white it can’t be feminism. I mean, hello? It either includes all women or it’s not feminism.”
“If it doesn’t include all women, it’s not feminism by definition. That’s just the way it is,” she added.
And in the time of Trump’s presidency, Steinem has said that there is one good thing to come out of the former businessman’s grab for power – she believes there are more political activists in the US than during the Vietnam War.
“The only good news of Trump is that the galvanising of activism is like nothing I have ever seen in my life. A thousand times more even than the Vietnam War, and how important that was – or of any other thing I’ve ever seen,” she said to The Guardian.
According to a University of Denver study, the Women’s March, which took place to protest Trump’s inauguration, was the largest single-day demonstration recorded in the US’s history.
Images: Rex Features
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