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GRAVITAS MAGAZINE GravitasMag.com | 63 Continued on page 64 S teinem did not invent feminism, but rather, became one of the movement's most prominent and influential advocates through nearly five decades of activism on behalf of gender equality. Despite the seriousness of her work, Steinem has kept an effer vescent air and oen injects humor into her work. Born on March 25, 1934, in Toledo, Ohio, the daughter of Ruth and Leo Steinem, she lived and traveled about in their trailer, from which her father carried out his trade as a traveling antiques dealer. Her upbringing was unusual: Steinem did not aend school on a regular basis until she was 11. Sometime before Steinem was born, her mother Ruth, then aged 34, had a "ner vous breakdown" that le her an invalid, trapped in delusional fantasies that on occasion turned violent. Previously considered an energetic, fun-loving , intelligent woman, Ruth 's episode le her afraid to be alone and unable to hold onto reality long enough to keep a job. Ruth spent long periods in and out of sanatoriums for the mentally ill. Eventually, Steinem's parents separated, in 1944, when she was 10 years old. Her father le for California in order to find work, while she and her mother continued to live together in Toledo. Steinem spent si x years living with her mother in a rundown home, struggling financially and caring for her mother. During her senior year of high school, she moved to Washington, D.C., to live with her older sister. A er her high school graduation, she went on to aend Smith College, studying government and political affairs and graduated Phi Beta Kappa. In 1956, Steinem went on a scholarship to India where she participated in nonviolent protests against government policy. Upon her return to the United States, Steinem seled in New York City, where she found work as a writer and journalist. Esquire magazine gave Steinem what she later referred to as her first "serious assignment," focusing on contraception. However, the editor did not like her first dra and made her rewrite it. e resulting 1962 article about the way in which women are forced to choose between a career and marriage was incredibly influential and preceded Be y Friedan's groundbreak ing book, e Feminine Mystique, by one year. Steinem gained further aention with her article, I Was A Playboy Bunny, which recounted her experience as a scantily clad waitress at Hugh Hefner's Playboy Club. e article featured a photo of Steinem in a Bunny uniform and detailed exploitative work ing conditions. Despite the success of the article, Steinem had trouble landing other assignments because, in her words, "I had now become a Bunny—and it didn't maer why." Before she landed a job at the newly founded New York magazine in 1968, Steinem kept busy with a series of projects. She conducted an inter view with John Lennon for Cosmopolitan magazine in 1964, and in 1965 she wrote for NBC-T V 's week ly satirical rev ue, at Was e Week at Was. Steinem's work continued to become more overtly political, and her involvement in feminism was solidified when she covered an abortion speak-out for New York magazine. At the speak-out, she felt what she called a " big click," , later saying she didn't begin her life "as an active feminist" until that day. In 1972, she cofounded the feminist- themed magazine Ms. as a special edition of New York magazine. Its 300,000 copies sold out nationwide in eight days, thus cementing Steinem's growing popularity and provided a forum the growing interest in feminism. Within weeks, Ms. had received 26,000 subscription orders and over 20,000 reader leers. ough the magazine was sold to the Feminist Majority Foundation in 2001, Steinem remains on the masthead as one of si x founding editors and ser ves on the advisor y board. From her early college days and throughout her career in journalism, she has been politically active in many areas. In 1959, Steinem led a group M A R R I AGE WOR K S BEER FOR M EN TH A N WOM EN.

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