Gloria Steinem: Second-Wave Feminism

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Two students from the same high school under the same teacher aspire to become doctors in their future. The teacher encourages one student to work towards becoming a doctor while discouraging the second student and advising the second student to try nursing (Steinem). What is the difference between these two students that causes the teacher’s change in encouragement? The first student was a boy and the second was a girl. This unequal treatment is what moved many women to campaign for more equitable rights in a male-dominated society. This continuous unfair treatment drove women out of their homes, out of their designated roles in society as wives and mothers, into the streets to rally, march, and campaign for an equal standing between men and women (“Who We Are”). One of the many women who spoke out during this wave of feminism is Gloria Steinem. She worked as a “journalist and activist in the 1960s-70s to headline a movement that became known as ‘second-wave feminism’” (“Gloria Steinem (1934-)”). She continues to speak out about the unequal rights between men and women even now. Women’s fight for equality started …show more content…
Being a co-leader of the organization permitted her the authority to testify in front of Congress. On May 6, 1970, Gloria Steinem addressed the legislature arguing in favor of the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment during her speech, "All Our Problems Stem from the Same Sex Based Myth.” In her speech, Steinem argues that societal myths cause women to see themselves as the inferior gender and make the women’s rights movement seem insignificant. She uses anaphora to strengthen her arguments that dispel the myths that claim equality between men and women. Steinem adds in some condescending language throughout her speech to demonstrate the unreasonable nature that women are treated despite these same sex based