Think the feminist revolution is over?
Think again, according to Gloria Steinem.
The activist, known for founding Ms. Magazine and creating "Take Your Daughter to Work Day," told hundreds last night that the feminist movement is still relevant and still has a lot to accomplish.
Steinem spoke at the auditorium in the University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology for the finale of Women's Week.
Describing society as enforcing a "sexual caste system," Steinem assessed the state of the movement and decried its detractors.
And she indicated that feminists have a long way to go. At the current rate, she said, it will be 50 years before men and women are equal in America.
Steinem had harsh words for the movement's opponents. "Why are they against lesbians and birthcontrol?" she asked. "They are politicizing sexuality because it does not end in conception."
She added that she hopes for a society like that of the Native American Iroquois, in which, Steinem said, women were equal to men.
But big changes must still be made before that can happen, she said.
"Do we think that men are raising children as much as women are?" she asked.
Steinem added there is a lack of economic incentive for homemaking, which she said constitutes 40 percent of work in the United States. Women continue to struggle to balance career and family, she added.
Greater male assistance in advancing the movement would also be appreciated, she said. "I just long for men to ask the same questions."
And as to whether Steinem participated in bra-burning during the 1970s, she said, "Nobody did. It was a media thing."
Many students were impressed by Steinem's speech.
"She has always been someone I've looked up to," College freshman Cecilia Corrigan said.
Organizers, too, were pleased.
"I liked how Steinem talked about the changing culture of femininity and masculinity,"said College senior Lisa Rothfarb, who helped organize the event as Chairwoman of Penn Consortium of Undergraduate Women.
