Gloria Steinem Talks Women's Progress, Aging Well At TEDxWomen

Feminist icon Gloria Steinem, author, activist and co-founder of Ms. Magazine, sat down with the Huffington Post’s Amanda Fairbanks in New York to discuss the advances women have made over the last four decades, the challenges that remain, and why she loved turning 60. Steinem participated in TedxWomen, a conference organized by The Paley Center for Media, held this week in New York and Los Angeles. Organizers in 110 other countries held "watch parties" to view the livestream of the event, and invited local speakers to discuss women's issues.

Comments

[susanhl]

08:00 PM on 12/03/2011

How lovely to see a woman who is proud of her years. We need more examples of what 60 really looks like. May we all embrace who we are right now and turn our attention to living joyful and fulfilling lives.

[EdMercer]

07:43 AM on 12/03/2011

She is a smart lady http://www.stayingyounginfo.com and it is good to hear someone have something positive to say about the present time.

[fhmjam]

07:43 AM on 12/03/2011

I didn't think there was anything good about turning 60- 'til I saw my low insurance rates for my 2006 Shelby GT-H.......

[mikelookup]

07:33 AM on 12/03/2011

Oh boy Gloria turning 60 is such a great thing why didn't you do it the day after you turned 20. I am 63, and while I accept the inevitable of aging believe me it ain't a walk in the park.

[kosmotis69]

07:11 AM on 12/03/2011

She's in her mid 70's and looking good..........let's hookup Glo!

[kasel1]

01:41 AM on 12/03/2011

Come on. She didn't age well. She did all she could to graft her image into the feminist movement so she could earn a living at it. There was nothing she wouldn't do to hang on. Now she's old. There has to be other ways to make some money off of women's backs, hey, Gloria? She's organized discussions of women's issues. Soon she'll turn into a a librarian. Think there's another book in the pulp pile?

[CarmanK]

10:40 AM on 12/03/2011

Gloria Steinam broke the mold and she paved the way. She wasn't perfect in her persuit of equality for "all women" but she was a poignant, consistant voice that made women strive for better at home and the work place. Like Jane Fonda, Gloria is a woman who opened doors and broke some glass ceilings. It was messy sometimes but very effective.

[Bianca S]

01:28 AM on 12/05/2011

"She didn't age well? Are you on glue? She's 77 years old, I think she's aged pretty darn well.

[dickn2000b]

01:33 AM on 12/03/2011

If Gloria Steinem says she loved turning 60...she needs a high colonic.

[CarmanK]

10:38 AM on 12/03/2011

I disagree, turning 60 was another juncture toward freedom for me. The children are grown, the spouse is retired and busy and there is now time for ME and I like it.

[dickn2000b]

04:04 PM on 12/03/2011

OK! You've given your opinion. That's great! Now for that high colonic you need...

[Jules Jules]

12:54 AM on 12/03/2011

Except that she's not really 60 anymore. She's more than that.

[flojo]

01:25 AM on 12/03/2011

Jules
why do you post so often on this site? I am interested to know this? flo1832

[Jules Jules]

09:48 PM on 12/03/2011

Flojo, I don't deliberately post on this site often; it's just that the news item/gossip items that appears on this site are the ones that stimulate me to respond. Nothing intentional. :-)

[ewu82]

12:42 AM on 12/03/2011

Headline is just a little misleading. Steinem turned 60 over seventeen years ago.

[shellfish789]

11:34 PM on 12/02/2011

I think she is happily married.......

[redbuns]

06:16 AM on 12/03/2011

but i'll bet her husband ain't.

[Honora]

02:26 PM on 12/04/2011

I think her husband died and I think she is one of the important women of our time and there are many. Eleanor Roosevelt, Rosa Parks, & More.

[Badger33]

10:12 PM on 12/02/2011

A lot of anger directed at Ms. Steinem on this thread. She's not a demon or a saint. However, it seems she speaks only to white, affluent women.

[capstan]

11:43 PM on 12/02/2011

That's where the money is.

[CarmanK]

10:46 AM on 12/03/2011

No, that's where her support was when she opened doors. The had the League of Women Voters, the YWCA, and the Junion League following her lead. She opened the doors for white women who had the best chance of succeeding when she started out. Black women were too busy surviving and trying to make up their own minds as to what their future would bring. Go see "the help", it is a good movie. Though not perfect, it tells a story that women everywhere should appreciate. There are all kinds of prisons, black women in the South saw the real injustices, but white women were opening doors in the work place, breaking barriers and overcoming "the guilt" of leaving the baby in order to go to work. Steinem broke barriers and you don't do that being shy or "lady like" all the time.

[CHUXKLES]

08:26 PM on 12/02/2011

By age 60 she lost all those nasty monthly womens issues...duh! She is looking forward to her surgery to complete her joy...her ADDA-D*ck-ta-me!!!

[jankantius]

11:39 PM on 12/02/2011

Go enjoy yourself. No other worthwhile being wants to participate.

[bmitche]

07:25 PM on 12/02/2011

She definitely changed women, but I'm not sure it was all for the better.

[benitalu]

10:05 PM on 12/02/2011

Well it might not have been all for the better, but women and their plight in this patriarchal world needed to change, and it still needs to change. Women have not really come that far, and they should still be working to drop this stupid sex object stereotype that most men still deep down have of women. And in many cases it's women's fault. You can still be a woman, attractive, sexy, without selling yourself to the silly fantasies of men. The younger women seem worse than ever with projecting this negative image too. Steinem really didn't do enough to make women change and realize this.

[bmitche]

11:07 PM on 12/02/2011

I agree. If was as if she gave women feedom to act a certain way, but forgot to remind them of the consequences.

[redbuns]

06:19 AM on 12/03/2011

i can never understand why it is that women want to be sexy but don't want men to fantasize. what's up with that? surely not all of them are trolling for lesbians.

[capstan]

11:45 PM on 12/02/2011

Well, they now pretty much have to work full time. It's no longer optional for most women. And they now have mens health issues like heart attacks and strokes. Thanks, Gloria.

[bmitche]

12:20 AM on 12/03/2011

Equal rights

[sherrala1]

01:03 AM on 12/03/2011

Wow, you really are a one trick pony, aren't you. You sing the same old song over and over again, but it makes no sense. Women have to work because they fought for equal rights and equal pay? What bs. Yes, there are certainly women out there working in careers that they fought hard to have, but a lot of women are working because...it's the economy, stupid.

[Thomas Hofer]

06:28 PM on 12/02/2011

Gloria Steinem is an admirable woman. I have read her books and lsitened to her.

[Bruce Barron]

04:29 PM on 12/02/2011

She probably never believed she would live this long to be able to cause as many people to be as confused as she is.It's beyond her wildest hope.The tragedy is that she believes what she states which, for the most part, is contrary to reason.She's a nuclear confused and confusion bomb and has done her job exceedingly well. Congradulations!

[mountainlora]

05:28 PM on 12/02/2011

Let's see. She told women to vote. She told women to have the self-esteem to stand up for themselves. How is this confused? Looks to me like you are confused.

[edtastic]

06:24 PM on 12/02/2011

Women are 54% of voters and they have been standing up for themselves to the point of being entitled. Confused is saying we are not half way there on equality. We are already there and if some feminist don't want to accept what it looks like then we really need to ignore them. Feminist have been using equality as a wish list for whatever like minded women may desire. That is not what it suppose to be, it's reasonably equal access to opportunities between different people and the common perception that gender does not make one inferior or superior to the other. We did that already, and I mean WE DID THAT, it was not just women.

Ironically some of the most sexist people around are the radical feminist who will proudly declare women to be superior. Female chauvinism is not the only problem. Feminist are notorious for their empathy gap where they show an inability to relate to male suffering while demanding men do more to serve them better. They have also promoted self centered thought so long they are convinced solipsism is the path to every women's salvation.

[Bruce Barron]

07:17 PM on 12/02/2011

Any woman worth her salt already knows these things and her great worth,nobility,and dignity don't have to be told to her by the likes of Steinem.And any woman worth her salt who sees that men cannot see these things should have nothing to do with them.Mother is still a greater title than Father in the order of dignity.