Gloria Steinem turns 80 tomorrow. Life in the Boomer Lane knows better than to assume that most people are aware of those people who have shaken up the world in ways that change us forever. So, for those of you who missed Gloria Steinem, here is a quick review: She was hot enough, as a young journalist, to go undercover as a Playboy bunny in 1963 to expose the misogynistic world of the Playboy empire. She was prolific enough to have authored several bestsellers. She was witty enough to have coined any number of memorable phrases, including “This is what 50 looks like,” on the occasion of her 50th birthday. She was creative enough to have co-founded New York Magazine and to have founded and run Ms Magazine. She was feisty enough to keep going, in spite of women who were threatened by the idea of taking their lives into their own hands and in spite of men who wanted to turn her into a sex symbol. She has accumulated countless awards, accolades, and honors over her lifetime. She has left her mark, not only on the modern women’s feminist movement, but on culture, human rights, and on our very notion of aging.
In a world that values great beauty, and is often intimidated by extraordinary intelligence, Steinem wore her legendary huge aviator glasses, let her hair do as it wished, and embraced the aging process. Yes, she wore mini-skirts and tight sweaters of the 60s and 70s and looked like a model while she did. Yet she consistently chose substance over style, and for that very reason, became a style icon to women around the planet. She answered to a far more powerful calling than the beauty with which she was born. The gift of Gloria Steinem is that she could walk into a room and have everyone stop to look at her, then open her mouth and have everyone forget what she looked like.
Steinem hasn’t stopped. In the last 30 years, since her famous “This is what 50 looks like” birthday statement, she has published, lobbied, founded national organizations, worked tirelessly toward women having a place in national media. She refuses to be defined by any notion of who or what a women should be, other than someone who uses passions and her abilities to be more than society deems her to be.
Steinem consistently walks the walk, in addition to talking the talk. She will celebrate her 80th birthday riding elephants in Botswana.
Happy birthday, Gloria. We thank you for sharing your vision of what 80 looks like.
Catherine Hamrick
March 24, 2014
Love your blog! Great to see this about Steinem. You give me hope about turning 80 if I make it. Thanks, Catherine (http://randomstoryteller.com)
Life in the Boomer Lane
March 24, 2014
Thanks, Catherine. I feel the same way. Steinhem is the best kind of role model for aging.
♡eM
March 24, 2014
An American heroine who helped us to truly come a long way! I still use the word actress too. And goddess. I think they’re powerful. What do you think? I wonder what Steinem thinks of masculine and feminine nouns. If you know, BOBB, please let me know. Smiles!
Life in the Boomer Lane
March 24, 2014
She is multi-talented and has interests across so many areas. I’m sure she’s love to tackle our language, among other things.
Sara's Musings
March 24, 2014
Gloria Steinem is an amazing woman, to be sure. She also was a first-time bride at the age of 66 when she married South African-born entrepreneur David Bale who was 61 at the time. Now that gives me a LOT of hope!!! 😉 It’s about the only thing she’s done that I might get close to doing one of these days. Thanks for sharing all of this with us, LBL!!! And a very Happy 80th Birthday to Gloria Steinem, too!!!
Life in the Boomer Lane
March 24, 2014
Wow, Sara, I had forgotten about her first time marriage at age 66. Yet one more way she flaunted common perceptions about aging.
Angeline M
March 24, 2014
Great post!
Life in the Boomer Lane
March 24, 2014
Thanks, Angeline, and thanks for reading.
katecrimmins
March 24, 2014
She was (and still is) one of my idols.
Life in the Boomer Lane
March 24, 2014
I’m holding out for her to say “This is what 100 looks like.”
btg5885
March 24, 2014
Great quote from Gloria Steinem. She, Bella Abzug and Betty Friedan were pioneers and took a lot of heat from men and even some women. Some women were openly vile toward Steinem, but she kept plowing ahead and made a huge difference. There is still work to be done, but she moved the ball forward. Happy B-Day. BTG
Life in the Boomer Lane
March 24, 2014
Yes, she never let anything stop her,
Betty Londergan
March 24, 2014
I love this sentence, “The gift of Gloria Steinem is that she could walk into a room and have everyone stop to look at her, then open her mouth and have everyone forget what she looked like.” Bravooooooo! on a beautiful tribute!!!
Life in the Boomer Lane
March 24, 2014
Thanks, Betty!
Lynne Spreen
March 24, 2014
Thank you for featuring Ms. Steinem, Ms. LBL. I plan to share this worthy post everywhere.
Life in the Boomer Lane
March 24, 2014
Wow, thanks, Lynne!
cindyricksgers
March 24, 2014
She is a grand example for all of us! I went to a talk she gave in the early 80’s. Walking to the parking structure later, we passed each other in the tunnel that went under the street. I smiled. She made eye contact, smiled back, excused herself from the group she was with and came over to shake hands and introduce herself to my friend and I. Every single woman is an important, valuable woman was the lesson I came away with…and she’s right at the top, in my mind!
Life in the Boomer Lane
March 24, 2014
What a wonderful story, Cindy. And what a perfect lesson you took away from that.
Retirementallychallenged.com
March 24, 2014
Thanks for a great post about a great woman! I love that she has embraced her age (and has done so at every age). She was, and remains, a role model to me. Class and intelligence all the way.
Life in the Boomer Lane
March 25, 2014
You are welcome, and thanks for reading. This was a post I was so grateful to be able to write.
Elyse
March 24, 2014
Wow. What a well lived life. And that quote is perfect. I’m still stuck on the “pissed off” part of it. Any idea how I get to be set free?
Life in the Boomer Lane
March 25, 2014
The trick is to note the word “first.” That’s the catalyst that sets everything in motion. It’s what happens after, when pissed off turns into action, that creates the impact.
Elyse
March 25, 2014
True. Cause you can stay pissed for a long time!
I’m going to reblog this. Because it is really a good reminder and good fun! I see others have too so I’m assuming you don’t mind.
Life in the Boomer Lane
March 25, 2014
Thanks for the reblog, Elyse. I’m honored.
Carrie Reimer
March 25, 2014
Reblogged this on Ladywithatruck's Blog.
Life in the Boomer Lane
March 25, 2014
Thanks for the reblog, Carrie!
piyushpujara
March 25, 2014
Happy Birthday
Life in the Boomer Lane
March 25, 2014
If I run into Gloria, I’ll pass that on to her.
piyushpujara
March 25, 2014
okay dear 🙂
Elyse
March 25, 2014
Reblogged this on FiftyFourandAHalf and commented:
Happy Birthday, Gloria! And thanks for all you’ve done!
I LOVE the quote — and I had those glasses too!
Life in the Boomer Lane
March 25, 2014
Thanks for the reblog!
Eva
March 25, 2014
Excellent piece. Thank you for reminding us what Gloria taught all women.
Life in the Boomer Lane
March 25, 2014
Thank you. I think that Steinem’s life speaks louder than any words that can be written about her.
Eva
March 25, 2014
Absolutely.
Eva
March 25, 2014
Reblogged this on The Peanut Butter Table and commented:
A great piece for a great woman.
Snoring Dog Studio
March 25, 2014
We still need her – or someone like her because I think we’ve lost ground in this battle. Is there anyone out there doing similar work?
Life in the Boomer Lane
March 25, 2014
Steinem came into adulthood at a pivotal time in our history. Everything seemed new, fresh. The modern age of women’s lib was in its inception. She and several others became symbols of that movement. There are young women now who have placed their lives on the line, in an attempted to change things for women. Malala Yousafzai comes to mind. But I think the basic issue of women’s rights has now become entagled with religion and politics in a way it wasn’t before. It is frightening and so sad.
praw27
March 25, 2014
Thank you for reminding us of a great pioneer who stood for what she believed in at a time when it was popular to do so. She taught us all that we could do so much more as women, and that we could do proudly and loudly!
Life in the Boomer Lane
March 25, 2014
You are welcome. One of the many things I admire about Steinem is that, as she ages, she stays as passionate and as committed as she has ever been, Every day, she continues to break new ground.
Jill Foer Hirsch
March 25, 2014
I wish there was a LOVE button for this one! She is my hero and inspiration, and I’m grateful for everything she did to pave the way for the women like me who came after her. I agree with comment above that we might be losing some ground; I think younger women need to be reminded of what the world for women looked like before Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinem, etc.
Life in the Boomer Lane
March 25, 2014
Absolutely, Jill. We women of a certain age have the responsibility of continuing to remind young women of all those who paved the way.
sunshinebright
March 25, 2014
Reblogged this on Sunshinebright and commented:
We women have so much to thank you for, Gloria. Hope your elephant ride is an unforgettable experience.
Life in the Boomer Lane
March 25, 2014
Thanks for the reblog!
sunshinebright
March 25, 2014
Reblogged. Thanks for sharing Gloria with so many who didn’t know when her birthday was. Her life has been an inspiration to so many women.
Gail
March 25, 2014
My favorite Gloria Steinem line is, “A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle.”
pouringmyartout
March 25, 2014
Nice…
Life in the Boomer Lane
March 25, 2014
Thank you, Sir.
pouringmyartout
March 25, 2014
no… thank you…
El Guapo
March 25, 2014
She’s a great example for any person, regardless of gender or circumstance.
Life in the Boomer Lane
March 25, 2014
Perfectly said.
An Ordinary Man (the novel)
March 25, 2014
i have mixed emotions. i met her writings as a college student in the 70s and my girlfriend agreed to marry me because i didn’t laugh when she said she wanted to go to law school. that happened, but as i read some of the femnist novels she had lying around the apartment, i saw she was casting me into someone i did not feel i was and could not fight back. we’re separated now. gloria’s fault? well, hyperbole is a necessary – but damaging – technique….
Life in the Boomer Lane
March 25, 2014
I think the fallout of personal transformation can sometimes have a negative impact on the relationships we created before the transformation occurred. The women’s movement shook things up that way, sometimes for the better and sometimes not. But any relationship has its own unique dynamic, and the people involved get to take full responsibility for its success or its failure. I’m guessing that if you took a hard look at the dynamic, it might have little to do with the women’s movement per se. As extraordinarily powerful as Steinem or any of the other feminists are/were, they don’t have the power to define our relationships. We do that. .
FabulousOver60
March 25, 2014
Gloria Steinem was always playing by her own rules. She has long served as a model of “independent choices” to us over 60s as we struggled to figure out exactly what “liberation” looked like. Now, as we see her continue her unique way of serving the world at 80 we are inspired to relish the future and drop outdated fears of aging. Of course we also have a burning question–Can we possibly look that good at 80? Happy Birthday Gloria from Fabulouover60.
Life in the Boomer Lane
March 25, 2014
This post was a pleasure to write. She continues to inspire, every single day.
Naomi Baltuck
March 25, 2014
Great post!
Life in the Boomer Lane
March 25, 2014
Thanks, Naomi, and thanks for visiting Life in the Boomer Lane.
Bruce Thiesen
March 25, 2014
I agree
Life in the Boomer Lane
March 25, 2014
Thanks, Bruce.
etomczyk
March 25, 2014
I cannot believe that Gloria is 80 years old! It seems like yesterday that her undercover journalism at the Playboy Club was published. What a courageous legacy she built for women. Happy birthday, Gloria, and have a great elephant adventure.
kraftycatcreations
March 25, 2014
Wonderful blog about a true pioneer! Happy Birthday Gloria!
benzeknees
March 25, 2014
Reblogged this on benzeknees and commented:
Happy Birthday Gloria Steinhem! You are a role model for so many women, including me!
iwritemyself
March 25, 2014
Wow, thank you for this post. While I adore your humorous posts, I find this one especiallly meaningful. Having grown up in an era with a stay-at-home-mom and later finding myself in an office job where we did not have “permission” to wear pants (not to mention a boss the age of my father who once put his tongue in my mouth) I realize I am most grateful for Women of Fortitude like YOU and of course, Steinem, to be a model for me, in spite of the countless times I cave to social norms.
Life in the Boomer Lane
March 26, 2014
You are welcome. Those of us who lived through the heady years of the modern women’s lib movement can appreciate the seismic shift that took place. And for me, personally, that makes my outrage even greater when I see basic rights being chipped away at that were so hard won. I love that Steinem has spent so much time in recent years in having an impact on public media. We need that now more than ever before.
iwritemyself
March 25, 2014
PS: I hear it is also DORIS DAY’s birthday this week!
Life in the Boomer Lane
March 26, 2014
Oh boy, now you are going to have me research Doris.
Valentine Logar
March 26, 2014
She remains fabulous.
Life in the Boomer Lane
March 26, 2014
Yes. It’s because her vision and her commitment remain as strong as ever.
iwritemyself
March 26, 2014
Also forgot to mention I did press this on my own blog too! would love to know more about Doris!
Life in the Boomer Lane
March 26, 2014
Thanks! I did some research on Doris, and she has spent years working on behalf of animals. But so far, I haven’t been inspired. I see that Debbie Reynolds is also about to have a birthday. She was my idol. Maybe a twofer? I don’t know.
iwritemyself
March 26, 2014
Yes, Doris leads a very low profile and from what I understand has dedicated her life to pets, even has a small dog-friendly hotel in Carmel, where we’ve stayed a couple of times. Phyllis Diller is one that I found inspirational. If you’d like to read a poem I wrote about Phyllis…it’s at: http://iwritemyself.wordpress.com/2013/02/26/phyllis/