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COVER STORY ‘Gloria: In Her Own Words’ celebrates a woman in her own time By Jacqueline Cutler © Zap2it Gloria Steinem opens the door to her home. That simple gesture could not be more symbolic. The most famous of the founders of the women’s move- ment has been opening doors of all kinds for more than 40 years. To women of a certain age, those who marched in the streets demanding equal rights, Steinem is a hero. To girls who never questioned that they could play ball, she’s also a hero. For those who don’t know who she is, and for those who smile at the mention of her name, watch HBO’s “Gloria: In her Own Words” Monday, Aug. 15. The excellent documentary has footage of President Rich- ard Nixon grumbling about her, George Burns coming on to her and the protests. It covers the story she did under cover as a Playboy bunny. She “learned what it was like to be on a meat hook,” she says in the film. “I regretted for many years I did it because it made me unserious.” It traces her childhood with an adored father, emotionally frag- ile mother and constant money problems. It shows the meeting she was covering, as a young journalist in 1969, when women revealed their hideous experi- ences getting illegal abortions. That became a pivotal moment for Steinem. She never grabs sole credit for what the women’s movement has accomplished. Steinem be- came the face of the movement when even the word “feminist” terrified people. While Bella Ab- zug and Flo Kennedy were abra- sive, Steinem was reserved, and the camera loved her. At 77, she looks fabulous. The long, frosted hair is shorter now but still parted in the middle. She wears brown slacks, a brown top and light makeup; the iconic aviator shades are gone. Her Manhattan apartment, as one might expect of a writer’s home, is full of books and art from her travels, including car- ousel statues from India on the mantel. She had just returned from South Korea after working with women attempting to reunify the country. Steinem answers whatever Zap2it asks. Q: Do you see a committed next generation of feminists? A:Yes, absolutely. There are infinitely more young women who consider themselves femi- nists. It’s clearly present. Q: How do you react to those who say equal rights are fine, but they’re not feminists? A:The word has been deni- grated in the same way “liberal” has been by the ultraright. If you send them to the dictionary and they look it up they might say, “Oh, yeah.” “Womanist” is a great word. I love “mujerista.” Also, I just think if people understood 1 x 5.5" ad Expressions North 2 – AUGUST 14 - 20, 2011 – BRAINERD, MN/DISPATCH what it means, 65 percent iden- tify (with feminism) in polls. Q: Are you surprised that abortion rights have been chipped away? A: Just from knowing about the depth of patriarchy and racism, I began to understand this. If con- trolling reproduction is the reason or the root that women have to be controlled, men have been made to feel they have to have great paternity; they need more people in their race and nation. Q: How do you stay so calm? A: I come from the Midwest. I don’t want to characterize the Midwest. ... When I started out, I made a list of the things that frightened me about the people in New York. They say three times the things we wouldn’t dream of saying once. Q: What’s your opinion of Sarah Palin? A: If I had set out to make up an adversary, I couldn’t have done much better. In a way, it is not her fault. She was picked up by what pretends to be the Republican Party. If they had a woman, that was all that was necessary.They treat women in a general way, like any general constituency under- stands who stands for their issues and who doesn’t. Gloria Steinem is profiled in “Gloria: In Her Own Words” Monday on HBO. Q:Why do we need a wom- en’s movement in 2011? A: Because we do not have a democracy without it, because violence against women is the primary cause of violence in the world. It sets the paradigm for all other violence.You can pre- dict violence by violence in the home. And for the sake of men, the woman man most fears is the woman inside himself. Men are deprived of the human qual- ities wrongly called feminine. So I would say we need a women’s movement for democracy, world peace and whole human be- ings. Q: Have you ever seriously thought of running for office, since you were on that implau- sible 1969 Norman Mailer/Jimmy Breslin ticket? A: I never thought of running for office. It is a big stretch for me to speak in public. Until the women’s movement, it was not natural for me. If I ran for office, I would have to study and un- derstand many issues that don’t interest me. Q: Do you still tap-dance in elevators? A: If there is an irresistible Muzak, I do still tap-dance. 1 x 4" ad Disability Specialist 2 x 4" ad Lakes States Bank

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