Gloria Marie Steinem is a journalist, activist, and Second-Wave feminist icon. Steinem has been actively engaged in the feminist movement since her role as a leader of the Women's Liberation Movement in the 1970s. Gloria Steinem was born on March 25, 1934, in Toledo, Ohio. Ms. Steinem received her BA from Smith College in 1956. After college, she worked for various anti-war and communist activist groups, building her political and journalistic foundation. |
In 1960, Steinem moved to New York City in hopes of becoming a journalist. She managed to rent a small apartment and live off miscellaneous writing assignments, mostly in the “girl ghettos of food and fashion" in magazines like Glamour and Ladies’ Home Journal. Steinem fought to move up the ladder and cover stories that really interested her. Clay Felker, a chief editor for Esquire magazine, gave Steinem her first serious assignment on the contraceptive pill in 1962. |
In 1963 Steinem wrote one of her most famous pieces, an exposé for Show Magazine from Steinem’s short undercover career as a Playboy Bunny. Although she did not write the piece from a feminist lens, “A Bunny’s Tale” would go on to become the quintessential depiction of the life of an over-sexualized and under-appreciated American woman.
“If you are pretty and personable, between 21 and 24, married or single, you probably qualify. No experience necessary. Apply in person at SPECIAL INTERVIEWS. Please bring a swimsuit or leotards.” -The ad Steinem responded to to be a Playboy Bunny |