Gloria, In Her Own Words: “A window into a time when sexism existed”

On Monday night, HBO will premiere the new documentary Gloria: In Her Own Words.

Steinem, it hardly needs mentioning, was the face of Second Wave feminism, and though she resists the description “icon,” there are many who consider her to be just that. Steinem is now 77 and still active in the feminist movement. Last night she went on the Colbert Report to talk about the documentary, which, Colbert joked, is only 75% as long as documentaries about men.

Colbert insisted that sexism is over now. “Everything is equal,” he said, because now, “there’s Spanx for men.” Steinem, unsurprisingly, countered that sexism is far from over, though feminism has made great strides. She suggested that changing the way we think about masculinity is one of feminism’s great remaining challenges. After decades of feminism, she said, “we know that women can do what men and can do… But we don’t know that men can do what women can do.” And that needs to change, because “it’s really important that kids grow up knowing that men can be as loving and nurturing as women can.”

Gloria: In Her Own Words airs on HBO on Monday, August 19 at 9pm. Don’t miss it!