www.redefinepossibility.com
How did you find power inside of yourself instead of placing it in the circumstances around you?
Each human being is a unique miracle, and that is true no matter how the culture may divide us by race, gender or class. No one else on earth is exactly like you, your contribution cannot be replaced.
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Aside from food and sleep, it’s encouragement from those close to us. We are communal animals, there is a reason why solitary confinement is the worst punishment everywhere in the world.
What are Talking Circles and why do you think they are so important?
Once again, they are important because we are communal animals, and with Talking Circles, there are two added practicalities: The possibility of diverse opinions, thus greater learning, plus the all-five-senses intimacy of being in the same room.
What struck me about being a part of a Talking Circle was how much you REALLY listened to the conversation. What have you learned about the art of listening and what can we do to get better at it?
It just takes the simple understanding that we don’t learn while we’re talking, only while we’re listening. Yes, self-expression is crucial, but learning is equally important - and pleasurable.
You have said, “Needing approval is a female cultural disease, and so it is often a sign that we are doing the wrong thing.” What do women need to know about themselves in order to act without the need for approval?
I was lucky to have parents who listened to me, no matter how young I was, and that gave me faith that I had something to say and also the right to say it. My earliest memory of this was when I was six or so, and I asked my father for a dime, He said, “What for?” and I said, “You can give it to me or now, but you can’t ask me what for.” To his everlasting credit, he said, “That’s right” – and gave me the dime.
What is one thing you wish women knew?
That each of us is a unique miracle, and no one is born superior or inferior whether by gender, race or class. It doesn’t matter whether we are seen as conforming to or defying expectations, only that we are acting and responding in a way that is honest, authentic and open to learning.
Gloria's Foundation, named in celebration of Gloria Steinem's lifelong work as an activist and organizer, has been established with the primary goal of supporting and nurturing the feminist movement. The Foundation's first goal will be to assume ownership of some and ultimately all of Gloria's entire three-story apartment. The vision for the apartment is that it shall continue to be what it always has been: a center for activism, thought, creativity, security, and planning.
To donate to Ms. Steinem's foundation please click here. To revisit Ms. Steinem's political writings every week leading up to the 2024 Presidential election, please click here.
A Talking Circle - Photo Credit: Katie Lyman
gloria steinem writer, political activist, and feminist organizer