As part of the baby boom generation, I grew up in an environment where women were for the most part of the stay-at-home variety. Black and white Tv was a good background for the America of the 1950s. But as we all know while the top of the kettle looked smooth and serene, under that calm was a brew that would come to a boil in the 1960s.
So like so many others coming of age in the time of Viet Nam and Nixon, we were pulled in many different directions. Among leaders who emerged during that time was the young Gloria Steinem and her magazine MS.
Now this is the ravings of an old man, but what Steinem represented in the early 70s and beyond was something I cheered. Any gaining of rights by any group was something that I always cheer for.So while Gloria Steinem became the face of the women’s movement, others emerged from nowhere to push the movement along.
As the movement simply exploded, Iowa women took their places among the leadership. Three that come immediately to mind are Minnette Doderer, Jean Lloyd-Jones and Roxanne Conlin. While I knew them only peripherally, I watched their exploits and joined their campaigns when I could. I would nominate Laura Belin as a heroine of today as she holds Iowa politicians to standards on her bleedingheartland.com blog.
So I want to say thanks to Gloria Steinem and all the feminists who have done what they can to reroute America. As we all know, the current regime is doing all it can to take our country back to the last century.
Since the advent of the Trump party, I think of the women’s movement and Steinem in particular, often. I think of the women running under the Republican banner and wonder if they understand that they are running under the banner of the party that wants to take their rights away? Do they understand that their party leaders openly, actively work to end women’s voting rights?
And I wonder would an Ashley Hinson, a Miller-Meeks or especially a Brenna Bird get an approval from someone like Gloria Steinem? I most certainly doubt it.
Here is a Meet the Press from the early 1970s featuring Gloria Steinem. This is quite interesting in the presentation of what we consider pretty common ideas (28 minutes):
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