March 25, 2013 - Happy Birthday, Gloria Steinem!

nMarchnis supposed to be “Women’s History Month.” Why would we need anspecial month just to talk about women in history? Because the bulknof history books have been written by and about men—kings andngenerals, male explorers and pirates, male scientists and artists,nand so on. Women worked and explored and created all through history,nand women sometimes fought and discovered and ruled, too—butnhistory often mentions these women when they explain that, fornexample, this woman scientist wasn’t allowed into a university andnthat woman artist wasn’t allowed to show her work in the academies.nIt’s sad to say that the history of women often consists of tales ofndiscrimination. In a world where even democratic countries didn’tnallow women to vote until the 1900s or even 2000s (and in SaudinArabia, women are STILL not allowed to vote)—in a world where evennnow women generally make less money than do men who work the samenjob—well, we need to take time to especially focus on women.
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Onenwomen who has helped to make a lot of positive changes for women isnGloria Steinem. Born on this date in 1934, Steinem grew up to becomena journalist and an activist for women’s rights. She famously becamena Playboy bunny in order to investigate and write about how womennwere treated in Playboy Clubs. She helped found Ms. Magazinenand worked for the Equal Rights Amendment, and she has written aboutnmany sensitive and controversial topics. She has worked tirelesslynfor equal rights, reproductive rights, and even LGBT rights. n

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nHerenare some quotes that share the wisdom of Steinem:

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n“Anwoman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle.”
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