Remembering Gloria Steinem: A Women’s Liberation Legacy That Reaches Into Burlesque
“A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle.”
The famous phrase was coined by Australian writer and educator Irina Dunn and later popularized by Gloria Steinem, the legendary journalist, activist, and leader of the women’s liberation movement, who passed away this week at the age of 92.
At VTBF, we believe it’s important to recognize the people and movements that helped pave the way for the burlesque we know and celebrate today. The women’s liberation movement played—and continues to play—an important role in challenging traditional expectations of women and helping create a culture in which women could claim greater ownership over their bodies, their voices, their sexuality, and their identities.
Gloria Steinem became a prominent voice in that movement. She rose to national attention in the 1960s through her work as a journalist and activist, including investigative reporting that exposed the ways women were treated and represented in American society. In 1972, she co-founded Ms. magazine, which became an influential platform for women’s voices and feminist ideas.
Modern burlesque exists within that larger cultural shift.
While burlesque has a much longer and more complicated history, today’s art form is often about much more than taking off your clothes. It can be about self-expression, body autonomy, confidence, humor, sexuality, identity, and—perhaps most importantly—the freedom to decide for yourself how you want to be seen and celebrated.
That spirit owes something to the generations of women who challenged the rules before us all.
So, in light of Gloria Steinem’s passing, VTBF celebrates her accomplishments and the positive mark she left on the world. We also recognize the countless women who helped create a culture in which women could increasingly define themselves on their own terms, as well as those who came before us to spark the resurgence of burlesque—taking back their bodies and reclaiming ownership of this art form.
That is something worth celebrating.
Learn more about Gloria Steinem and her remarkable life through CBS News’ remembrance of her and these additional sources:
CBS News
Wikipedia
Gloria Steinem.com
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