PBS Newshour Extra

In 1970, feminist activists took over the offices of Ladies’ Home Journal, arguing that it only published stereoptypical articles on “women’s issues” like housekeeping but didn’t focus on the women’s movement or equal rights. Two years later, seeing a void that needed to be filled, Gloria Steinem cofounded Ms. magazine and served as one of its editors and writers for fifteen years. Steinem rose to prominence as a public intellectual and began to speak internationally on issues of gender equality.

Skip to Social Media Activity

Directions

Watch the video and answer the questions in the boxes below.

Woman, “A Conversation with Gloria Steinem.” Edited version. Dec. 5, 1974. Permission has been granted for educational purposes only, courtesy of WNED via American Archive of Public Broadcasting (WGBH and Library of Congress)

Questions

1. Describe the opening of the show. What objective did the producer have in mind with the selection of images?

2. What does Gloria Steinem say about how the press has covered the women’s rights movement? What does Steinem say is the basis for the women’s movement?

3. Sandra Elkin asks Steinem about the “imitative” nature of the women’s movement, that is, how it imitates previous social movements, including the civil rights movement. Why do you think Elkin uses the word “imitative” instead of “inspired”?

4. Gloria Steinem was a journalist before becoming an activist and starting Ms. magazine. How might Steinem’s background in journalism inform her strategies as a leader in the women’s rights movement?

Annotate this Image

Directions: Examine the 1972 preview issue of Ms. magazine, using the magnifier tool to help you. Then use the annotation tool to answer the following questions:

What objects is the woman holding? Why do you think the woman is depicted as the many-armed Hindu goddess Kali? (And do you think it's appropriate for a secular feminist American magazine to use an image from Hindu mythology to make its point? To learn more about Kali, read this Quartz article, “Kali Is the 3,000-Year-Old Feminist Icon We Need Today.”)
What message do you think Ms.’s editors were trying to send with the image?
Ms. magazine was one of the first publications to put the issues of domestic violence and sexual harassment on its cover. What other topics are discussed in this issue? Why do you think these issues had largely been left out of “mainstream” media?
Do you think starting a news magazine to support a social movement could create change? How so? What would be a similar action today?

Download the notes to share with your class.

Source: Ms. magazine preview issue. Spring 1972. Photo provided courtesy of the Feminist Majority Foundation and may be used for educational purposes only.

Annotate Mode

Use the toggle button above to switch to Magnify Mode. Magnify mode will help you see finer detail in the image.
Switch back to Annotate Mode to create your annotations with click and drag.

Your Annotations

Download

Gender Equality

1850s to Present

Primary Sources

Suffrage

Every Woman’s Right to Vote

Ms. Magazine

Women’s Movement

Essence Magazine

Black Women and the Women’s Movement

Women in Politics

Effects of Civic Engagement

Sexual Harassment

Anita Hill and Clarence Thomas

Tarana Burke and #MeToo

Empowerment through Empathy

Directions

Questions

Annotate this Image