Un'antologia sul corpo delle donne. Tre pezzi usciti su Ms., il celebre (oltre che il primo) magazine femminista ideato e diretto dall'icona del femminismo americano Gloria Steinem, su tre temi fondamentali per le donne e oggi più che mai attuali: il corpo, l'aborto,?l'age fobia. In the name of feminism, cosi come lo definisce Gloria Steinem: ?'la difesa dei diritti delle donne sulla base dell'uguaglianza dei sessi'.

In tutto il mondo l'alleanza tra movimenti pro-life e destra politica punta a svuotare le conquiste del movimento femminista e ad annullare l'autodeterminazione riproduttiva delle donne, subordinandola a imperativi di crescita demografica che a malapena celano l'intento di presidiare la 'purezza razziale' delle diverse compagini nazionali. Questo intreccio perverso tra restaurazione patriarcale e razzismo non è nuovo, così come non è nuovo l'arsenale retorico utilizzato dallo schieramento antiabortista, a partire dall'abuso dell'analogia tra aborto e Olocausto e, a cascata, tra femminismo e nazismo. È un segno eloquente dei tempi il fatto che La 'Nazi connection' continui a essere rilevante ancora oggi e, per certi versi, profetico. Apparso per la prima volta nel 1980, a ridosso dell'ascesa di Ronald Reagan alla Casa Bianca, il saggio di Gloria Steinem non soltanto mostra l'infondatezza dell'accostamento polemico tra interruzione volontaria di gravidanza ed eugenetica nazista, ma lo rovescia su sé stesso sollecitando chi legge a ragionare su un'altra analogia: quella tra la fine della Repubblica di Weimar e gli Stati Uniti dell'era reaganiana.

In una società inebriata dal culto della giovinezza, tutto cospira per collocare la terza età sotto il segno del disvalore e della mancanza, in particolare se si tratta di donne. La possibilità stessa di costruire una solidarietà femminista intergenerazionale è gravemente compromessa dalla falange di luoghi comuni che stringe d'assedio la «donna anziana». Eppure a questa pressione si può resistere superando gli stereotipi legati all'età e disponendosi a cogliere il potenziale radicale racchiuso nella transizione verso una nuova fase dell'esistenza. Per esempio rimarca Steinem, dopo i Sessanta arriva un inaspettato senso di liberazione, le donne diventano meno radicali si arriva a un nuovo confine della vita dove non vedi l'ora 'di scambiare l'eccesso con la moderazione e la sfida con l'apertura e la pianificazione dell'ignoto'. Muovendosi tra autobiografia e riflessione politica, Gloria Steinem riscopre una tradizione nascosta di pratiche femminili capaci di fare della vita oltre la menopausa un centro dinamico di attivismo e teoria femminista.

Per le donne il corpo è spesso un campo di battaglia con la propria autostima. Reggiseni, slip, costumi da bagno, costituiscono il rimando visivo a un'immagine della donna commerciale e idealizzata a cui i loro corpi reali, e soprattutto differenti gli uni dagli altri, non possono adeguarsi. Senza quei riferimenti visivi, standard irraggiungibili fissati dagli altri, invece, ogni singola donna può tornare ad amarsi e a vedere il proprio corpo per quello che è: unico e bellissimo. Dopo aver trascorso qualche giorno in un centro benessere in compagnia di una novantina di donne, Gloria Steinem scrisse 'Elogio dei corpi delle donne', un saggio breve ma potentissimo, in parte ode e in parte trattato, scritto in completa adorazione della forma femminile, in tutta la sua straordinaria varietà. 'Elogio dei corpi delle donne' è stato pubblicato per la prima volta sulla rivista Ms. nell'aprile del 1982.

Diretto a tutti, sia donne che uomini, questo libro illuminante e fondamentale svela quanto il sistema sociale patriarcale in cui viviamo sia causa dell'erosione della stima di sé. In una prosa lucida, coraggiosa e nello stesso tempo ironica e tenera, Steinem analizza la struttura educativa e sociale sulla quale veniamo formati (modelli educativi, materie scolastiche, libertà di movimento, percezione del corpo, spiritualità, concezione della natura, relazioni) sulla base di ricerche, studi scientifici, letture di settore, così come di storie di vita vissuta, esperienze dirette proprie e di amici e conoscenti. È importante dimenticare l'educazione avuta se questa ci porta al rifiuto di noi stessi. Bisogna piuttosto rendersi conto che equilibrio e rispetto di sé (e quindi degli altri) derivano dalla pace e dall'accordo con il nostro essere fisico e spirituale.

Gloria Steinem—writer, activist, organizer, and inspiring leader—now tells a story she has never told before, a candid account of her life as a traveler, a listener, and a catalyst for change.
 
When people ask me why I still have hope and energy after all these years, I always say:Because I travel. Taking to the road—by which I mean letting the road take you—changed who I thought I was. The road is messy in the way that real life is messy. It leads us out of denial and into reality, out of theory and into practice, out of caution and into action, out of statistics and into stories—in short, out of our heads and into our hearts.
 
Gloria Steinem had an itinerant childhood. When she was a young girl, her father would pack the family in the car every fall and drive across country searching for adventure and trying to make a living. The seeds were planted: Gloria realized that growing up didn’t have to mean settling down. And so began a lifetime of travel, of activism and leadership, of listening to people whose voices and ideas would inspire change and revolution.
 
My Life on the Road is the moving, funny, and profound story of Gloria’s growth and also the growth of a revolutionary movement for equality—and the story of how surprising encounters on the road shaped both. From her first experience of social activism among women in India to her work as a journalist in the 1960s; from the whirlwind of political campaigns to the founding ofMs. magazine; from the historic 1977 National Women’s Conference to her travels through Indian Country—a lifetime spent on the road allowed Gloria to listen and connect deeply with people, to understand that context is everything, and to become part of a movement that would change the world.
 
In prose that is revealing and rich, Gloria reminds us that living in an open, observant, and “on the road” state of mind can make a difference in how we learn, what we do, and how we understand each other.

Advance praise for My Life on the Road

“It’s amazing to have a lifelong heroine who is also one of my favorite writers. Gloria Steinem is a deeply revolutionary woman. She changed America in a fundamental way without being damaged by it or losing her joy.”—Anne Lamott

“Rarely do women have the opportunity to travel as Steinem has done—living a life full of radical adventure. Everywhere she goes, she carries with her the vitality of democracy, of freedom for women and men, and her profound love of justice.”—bell hooks

“A personal, beautiful look at the deceptively radical act of travel and how it formed one of our most important voices for human rights . . . By delving deeper into her own thrilling story, Steinem shows us that we all have a fighter inside us.”—Lena Dunham

“Countless times, I had to put Gloria Steinem’s new book down and allow an explosive truth she had just revealed to roll through me. And they all arrived—page after page—in the most personal, unexpected ways.”—Jane Fonda

“Steinem’s new book is a lightning rod to the head and heart: stimulating, no, shocking us to get up out of our easy chairs and do something meaningful with our lives—to hit the road. Women will read My Life on the Road, but men must.”—James Patterson

“Steinem’s lightness of being combined with her complete seriousness, her love for words and her call for actions, remind us to celebrate her as one of the most important women of our time.”—Diane von Furstenberg


From the Hardcover edition.

'Gloria Steinem had an itinerant childhood. Every fall, her father would pack the family into the car and they would drive across the country, in search of their next adventure. The seeds were planted: Steinem would spend much of her life on the road, asa journalist, organizer, activist, and speaker. In vivid stories that span an entire career, Steinem writes about her time on the campaign trail, from Bobby Kennedy to Hillary Clinton; her early exposure to social activism in India, and the decades spentorganizing ground-up movements in America; the taxi drivers who were 'vectors of modern myths' and the airline stewardesses who embraced the feminist revolution; and the infinite, surprising contrasts, the 'surrealism in everyday life' that Steinem encountered as she traveled back and forth across the country. With the unique perspective of one of the greatest feminist icons of the 20th and 21st centuries, here is an inspiring, profound, enlightening memoir of one woman's life-long journey'--

Gloria Steinem—writer, activist, organizer, and one of the most inspiring leaders in the world—now tells a story she has never told before, a candid account of how her early years led her to live an on-the-road kind of life, traveling, listening to people, learning, and creating change. She reveals the story of her own growth in tandem with the growth of an ongoing movement for equality. This is the story at the heart ofMy Life on the Road.

Gloria Steinem—writer, activist, organizer, and one of the most inspiring leaders in the world—now tells a story she has never told before, a candid account of how her early years led her to live an on-the-road kind of life, traveling, listening to people, learning, and creating change. She reveals the story of her own growth in tandem with the growth of an ongoing movement for equality. This is the story at the heart ofMy Life on the Road.

Includes an introduction read by Gloria Steinem.

“As a speaker, writer and feminist spokesperson, Steinem has no equal. She expresses herself with irresistible conviction…Steinem sprinkles her talk with wit while offering hope and encouragement that our lives can be better.” - Library JournalGloria Steinem offers her views on the interconnectedness between self-esteem and sexism, racism, politics, and physical and sexual abuse in this entertaining and educating program, recorded live in New York City.Bonus audio of Scholars, Witches and Other Freedom Fighters:This talk by Gloria Steinem is a recording that took place in 1993 in Salem, Massachusetts, in concurrence with the 300th anniversary of The Salem Witch Trials. In this incredibly enlightening and motivational audio, Steinem puts into social and historical context the role of society in the treatment and mistreatment of women.

Why do so many women of faith have such a strong aversion to feminism? And why do so many feminists have an ardent mistrust of religion? These questions are at the heart of Helen LaKelly Hunt's illuminating look at the alliance between spiritual conviction and social action. Intelligent and heartfelt, Faith and Feminism offers a perceptive look at the lives of five spirited and spiritual women of history, women who combined their undying faith with feminist beliefs and who made the world a better place by doing so.

? St. Teresa of Ávila, a woman whose bravery in confronting her shadows gave her the strength to connect with the world and live a life of divine action.

? Lucretia Mott, a Quaker minister, who rose from her quiet upbringing to become a passionate speaker and activist working tirelessly on behalf of justice and peace.

? Sojourner Truth, a Christian slave, who spoke out with unwavering courage to claim her God-given rightful place as an African American and a woman.

? Emily Dickinson, an extraordinary poet, who touched the world with her ability to capture and transform the experience of suffering.

? Dorothy Day, a radical journalist, who lived a life of voluntary poverty as a way of expressing her passion for the Christian faith and care for those in need.

A remarkable book that focuses on the idea that spirituality and feminism are really different expressions of the same impulse to make life more whole, Faith and Feminism offers a powerful catalyst for reflecting on our sense of self -- and for living and loving according to our deepest values.

A collection of writings includes pieces on topics ranging from love, money, food, and erotica, essays on personal experience as political revelation, and profiles of and interviews with celebrities including Marilyn Monroe and Pat Nixon.

Gloria Steinem is one of the country's most influential and innovative writers and activists. In Revolution from Within, Marilyn: Norma Jean, and Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions, she created a dialogue with her readers that shapes the way we think about human possibilities. In this newest six-part adventure of essays that 'begin in a personal place, and arrive at a larger point,' she offers more revolutionary ideas, compassionate insights, and one truly over-the-top fantasy. Three of its six parts appear here for the first time. Three of them have a seed, seedling, or partly grown plant in a previously published article. As Steinem writes in the Preface, 'Each of these six parts is rather like a condensed book....Since there seems to be no genre for this, I've found myself explaining it this way: If you added water to any of these parts, it would become a book.'

The well-know women's rights activist and feminist connects the external revolution to an internal revolution of spirit and consciousness, offering readers parables from the lives of figures as diverse as Mahatma Gandhi and Julie Andrews. Reprint. 150,000 first printing. $100,000 ad/promo.