Name: To future generations of women, you are the roots of change | Gloria Steinem
Uploaded: 2020-12-04T19:06:13.000Z
Duration: 13 min 17 s
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To-infinitive

When we ask all of our TED community, many of them,

"Who would you like to hear from if we're going to look forward and onward,

Unanimously, the answer was "Gloria Steinem."

Now I know you're way too modest to accept that easily,

since we have known each other for a long time,

and talk about those early days when you were building a movement,

You must have had some manifestation of "Fearless" in your life.

What were your fears and how did you overcome them?

and chief among them was speaking in public,

Because, you know, we choose to express ourselves

and I became a writer because I didn't want to talk.

So the first thing I had to overcome was the fear of public speaking,

and because I was afraid to do it by myself,

Dorothy Pitman Hughes, and then Flo Kennedy --

anyway, so we became, in that way, somewhat accidentally,

one white woman, one Black woman, speaking together, which, you know,

was very helpful to express that the movement was for everyone.

when you were becoming, not only a really powerful public speaker,

response to a word that became the anthem for so many of us,

And I see now, as you do, that there are still ways

in which feminism is not understood as a concept.

Misunderstood, criticized, sometimes ridiculed.

GS: Well, it's just the radical idea that human beings are all equal

and we can dispense with the labels of gender and class and race

and begin to realize our unique individuality.

Of course feminism was misunderstood in the beginning,

I mean, you know, there were all kinds of misunderstandings,

I used to just send people to the dictionary

and the next generation of young women --

and the concept of, "there's still a lot to be done

I mean, the word is still there, womanism, women's liberation,

So Black Lives Matter was started by three young Black feminists.

that is beginning to change much that needs to be changed.

that of course they were there as three young Black feminists.

PM: And in the early days of the women's movement

one of the ways that we have learned to talk to each other

about difficult issues in which we may have disagreements,

were sort of the talking circles or the consciousness raising,

to begin to build back the bridges between us?

GS: You know, I regret the emphasis on divisions,

because we are more unified than any other movement in history.

So I think we ought to celebrate that fact.

And it comes out of talking circles as you point out,

which used to be called consciousness raising groups.

And it just means that you sit in a circle,

Native Americans passed around a talking stick --

and everybody has to listen while each person --

and in that way, you say unsayable things

and somebody on the other side of the circle says,

and also, you discover how you can help each other.

There's no substitute for those kinds of talking circles.

PM: I want to be the first to volunteer with you, Gloria,

to start the talking circles and passing the talking sticks again.

One of the surprising things that people who come into your presence

are always surprised to find out what a great sense of humor you have.

And one of my favorite books of the many you have written

and the title of it -- forgive me those who might not like bad language --

the title is "The Truth Will Set You Free, But First It Will Piss You Off!"

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To future generations of women, you are the roots of change | Gloria Steinem

regret

concept

native

experience