Gloria Steinem, Made in India
The face of American feminism went to India in part to escape marriage. What she learned there changed her life.
While the world might know Gloria Steinem for her speeches, rallies, and writings, that’s not what made her an exceptional activist. It was her ability to listen — a skill she picked up not in the streets of Toledo, New York City, or Los Angeles, but in Tamil Nadu, India.
India “literally set the trajectory for the rest of her life,” Rashida Shafiq, who wrote her doctoral dissertation on Steinem’s India years, told The Juggernaut. “And it’s not just me saying it, but it’s her saying it.”
Gloria Steinem — journalist, activist, feminist — spent some of the most formative years of her life, those two years right after graduating from Smith College, in India. While there, she wrote articles, traveled, and even modeled a sari for an Indian textile brand. When she returned to America, she brought back a lot more than just stories.