It wasn't just pity for child-woman Marilyn, abandoned and abused Norma Jeane, or even for womankind in all our messy loveliness and pain, but even just for the sheer joy of learning, of being lovingly taught. In such a short book-concise text kept to perfect brevity, several pages devoted entirely to just glossy photos-Steinem manages to reveal Marilyn with such clear ringing feminist honesty and kindness and compassion that I wept on several occasions.

This was the first time I remember hearing someone (my mom) describe such a glamorous woman as 'sad.'įrom the moment I opened this book again I was all opened up: eyes wide, mouth gaping, mind expanded, heart entirely rent. I remember being frightened by these late-era photographs of Marilyn: freckled and age-spotted, eyes half-mast, champagne in hand, bruised and heavily made-up and mostly naked, smiling. She caught me sitting behind an armchair, looking at the pictures.

In fact, I first came across this book when it first came out-when I was six years old-and my mother had it on her bookshelf in the living room. Rarely do I come across a book that allows itself to be read with such freedom from all cynicism, skepticism, irony, or struggle. She continues to involve herself in politics and media affairs as a commentator, writer, lecturer, and organizer, campaigning for candidates and reforms and publishing books and articles. Steinem currently serves on the board of the organization. In 2005, Steinem worked alongside Jane Fonda and Robin Morgan to co-found the Women's Media Center, an organization that works to amplify the voices of women in the media through advocacy, media and leadership training, and the creation of original content. In 1969, she published an article, ' After Black Power, Women's Liberation', which, along with her early support of abortion rights, catapulted her to national fame as a feminist leader. She was a columnist for New York magazine and co-founded Ms. A prominent writer and key counterculture era political figure, Steinem has founded many organizations and projects and has been the recipient of many awards and honors. Gloria Marie Steinem (born March 25, 1934) is an American feminist, journalist, and social and political activist who became nationally recognized as a leader of, and media spokeswoman for, the women's liberation movement in the late 1960s and 1970s.

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