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GLORIA: IN HER OWN WORDS (TV)

Summary

This documentary film profiles the life and career of feminist activist Gloria Steinem. The program begins as Steinem summarizes her view on feminism, explaining that, as many believed women's roles to be "biologically dictated," she faced difficulty in becoming a political reporter in her early career. She went undercover and wrote a famous exposé of the Playboy Bunny Club in 1963, revealing that the waitresses were underpaid and mistreated, and though she regretted the "unserious" piece for some time, she later came to embrace its importance. She notes that she related to the free-spirited Holly Golightly in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" (1961), even imitating her hairstyle, and faced "normal" sexual harassment at work as she continued receiving assignments relating to fashion, babies and other "women's issues." After undergoing an illegal abortion at age twenty-two and then learning that many other women suffered the same difficulties and stigma, she became actively involved in the burgeoning women's-liberation movement. Finding that she was often unable to publish pieces about feminism, she began speaking out publicly, appearing alongside Betty Friedan at the 1970 Women's Strike for Equality March.

Steinem comments on the stereotypical images of feminists as uptight, sexless "shrews," noting that she herself has enjoyed a healthy dating life and even began a career in show business, having started out as a tap-dancer. An offensive 1971 article in Esquire entitled "She" attacked Steinem as insincere, and the "humiliating" experience prompted her to help found Ms. magazine, which, despite Harry Reasoner's doubts, proved extremely successful. President Nixon was heard insulting Ms. and Steinem in a secret conversation with Henry Kissinger, and Steinem, who commented on Nixon's obvious insecurities, was then rumored to be dating Kissinger. Steinem reflects on her loving but irresponsible father and her "pioneer" journalist mother, who eventually suffered a nervous breakdown, forcing a young Steinem to adopt the role of caregiver. She comments on the power of the "angry woman," as seen at the 1972 Democratic National Convention when several female activists clashed with CBS reporters, and she recalls her friendship with Bella Abzug, who took a wryly funny view when a pornographic image of Steinem was placed outside of the Ms. offices.

Steinem and Freidan's friendship deteriorated when Freidan made public comments suggesting that Ms. was "profiteering" from feminism, and Steinem notes that Freiden prefers to "identify up" rather than embrace inclusivity. In 1973, Roe v. Wade legalized abortion in the United States, leading to twelve activists landing the cover of Time magazine, and lesbian issues officially "became" part of the feminist movement at the 1977 National Women's Conference in Houston. As the activists worked towards passing the Equal Rights Act, Steinem struggled with her mother's death and her regrets about their partial estrangement over the years. She wrote "Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions" and had a famous sit-down with George Burns, though she admits that she felt "defiant" about turning fifty and undergoing breast cancer treatments, stating that she was "very lucky" to catch the disease early. Steinem faced ongoing backlash from anti-feminists, including a memorable caller on "The Larry King Show," and she decided to deal with her growing sense of depression and exhaustion by "looking internally," leading to a book about self-esteem, "Revolution From Within." She gave an emotional tribute at Abzug's funeral in 1998, and surprised everyone when she married entrepreneur David Bale in 2000, at the age of sixty-six. Bale notes that he is not at all intimidated by her views on gender, though their happiness was short-lived and Bale died of lymphoma in 2003. Steinem concludes the program by commenting on the simplicity of "seeing the world as whole" and believing that that the genders should be equal, urging younger women to follow their own consciences and continue the ever-growing movement towards true equality.

Details

  • NETWORK: HBO
  • DATE: August 15, 2011 9:00 PM
  • RUNNING TIME: 1:01:17
  • COLOR/B&W: Color
  • CATALOG ID: 110432
  • GENRE: Documentary
  • SUBJECT HEADING: Documentary; Biography; Feminism
  • SERIES RUN: HBO - TV, 2011
  • COMMERCIALS: N/A

CREDITS

  • Dyllan McGhee … Executive Producer
  • Jacqueline Glover … Supervising Producer
  • Sheila Nevins … Producer
  • Peter Kunhardt … Producer, Director
  • George T. Kunhardt … Associate Producer
  • Teddy Kunhardt … Associate Producer
  • Amy Rockefeller … Associate Producer
  • Michael Bacon … Music by
  • Gloria Steinem … Interviewee
  • Bella Abzug
  • David Bale
  • George Burns
  • Flo Kennedy
  • Betty Friedan
  • Henry Kissinger
  • Richard Nixon
  • Harry Reasoner