We are the glorias!

I posted this photo by Charles Gorry on Instagram last week, along with my thoughts and feelings about Gloria Steinem’s death, and the response was overwhelming. It had over 60,000 views, and there were over 440 comments, mostly from women who also remember these 4 women’s rights powerhouses: Steinem, Congresswoman Bella Abzug, Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, and author and activist Betty Friedan.

And as I said to a friend of mine, if you add Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to this group, these are my Founding Mothers. These women – and SO many others – have changed the trajectory of this country. Between the politics, activism, legislation, and Supreme Court decisions, in my lifetime – think about this – in my lifetime, we went from women not being able to have a credit card; not being able to have their own checking account; not being able to have a mortgage in their own name, to all 3 of those things being possible.

There were a variety of comments to the post, including adding other women to the list of trailblazers: Angela Davis, Dolores Huerta, Rosa Parks, Sharice Davids, Marsha P. Johnson, Patsy Takamoto Mink, Deb Haaland, Ruby Bridges, Cecilia Cruz Bamba, Dorothy Pittman Hughes, Diane Nash…and so many others.

There were a lot of comments decrying the fact that our rights as women are being stripped from us, one by one. But the question I got most often was, 

“Who is the next Gloria?” 

WE Are The Glorias!

My answer to that is WE are the Glorias.

I keep thinking of the quote from the brilliant anthropologist Margaret Mead, 

We are the ones who must continue this fight. As women, we have been socialized to stay silent, and to go along to get along; to not upset anyone. The time is now to summon our courage, despite the fear of stepping out, and stepping up. Women make up 51% of the population in the US, so we outnumber those who would keep us down. And there are many non-females who support positive change, because they, too, know that if rights are equal, we all benefit.

Gloria Steinem said at the end of her life that she wasn’t passing the torch, but that she was going to hold on to hers, and use it to light other people’s. 

Will you join me in picking up your torch? 🗽

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About Jean:

Jean Campbell, LCSW, SEP, TTP, TEP has been bringing together groups of people to heal for over 31 years. She blends her extensive experience in psychodrama, sociometry, group psychotherapy, somatic healing and trauma resolution to offer training for helping professionals, personalized intensives, psychotherapy, clinical consultation, and leadership workshops. You can find her at theactioninstitute.com, on Instagram at @actioninstitute, and on Facebook at @actioninstituteofcalifornia.