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On Self Esteem & Scholars, Witches and Other Freedom Fighters
“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 Journal
Gloria 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.
Gloria 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.
3 pages, Audio CD
First published August 6, 2013
3 people are currently reading
1182 people want to read
About the author
Gloria Steinem
118 books3,258 followersGloria Marie Steinem (born March 25, 1934) is an American feminist, journalist, and social and political activist who became nationally recognized as a leader of, and media spokeswoman for, the women's liberation movement in the late 1960s and 1970s. A prominent writer and key counterculture era political figure, Steinem has founded many organizations and projects and has been the recipient of many awards and honors. She was a columnist for New York magazine and co-founded Ms. magazine. In 1969, she published an article, " After Black Power, Women's Liberation", which, along with her early support of abortion rights, catapulted her to national fame as a feminist leader.
In 2005, Steinem worked alongside Jane Fonda and Robin Morgan to co-found the Women's Media Center, an organization that works to amplify the voices of women in the media through advocacy, media and leadership training, and the creation of original content. Steinem currently serves on the board of the organization. She continues to involve herself in politics and media affairs as a commentator, writer, lecturer, and organizer, campaigning for candidates and reforms and publishing books and articles.
In 2005, Steinem worked alongside Jane Fonda and Robin Morgan to co-found the Women's Media Center, an organization that works to amplify the voices of women in the media through advocacy, media and leadership training, and the creation of original content. Steinem currently serves on the board of the organization. She continues to involve herself in politics and media affairs as a commentator, writer, lecturer, and organizer, campaigning for candidates and reforms and publishing books and articles.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews
December 14, 2015
Extraordinarily insightful and entertaining. Well worth listening to!
March 29, 2021
WOW I am amazed by how much I got out of this very short, extremely insightful, and funny lecture. The points that impacted me most were:
1. Institutionalized racism and controlling women's bodies go hand in hand. Consider, for instance, how anti-miscegenation laws (which were common in the United States until the late 1960s) sought to prevent racial mixing by controlling women's bodies. It's important to understand our past so we can more effectively question the present.
2. Women who are stay-at-home mothers and caretakers labor an absurd amount, though the monetary value of this labor is often ignored. Steinem suggests considering how much a woman would earn (including overtime) if she swapped places with the stay-at-home mother from across the street and both were then compensated for their labor.
3. Members of oppressed groups often internalize their oppression, which manifests in trying to distance themselves from their group to advance in the patriarchal system. As an act of rebellion, Steinem recommends that women, who have no nation, convene together (ex. a weekly witch coven) to support one another. On an individual level, she recommends that members of oppressed groups commit to consciously doing one thing each day to advance their self-respect.
In conclusion, question the system, support your fellow witches, and know your own worth.
1. Institutionalized racism and controlling women's bodies go hand in hand. Consider, for instance, how anti-miscegenation laws (which were common in the United States until the late 1960s) sought to prevent racial mixing by controlling women's bodies. It's important to understand our past so we can more effectively question the present.
2. Women who are stay-at-home mothers and caretakers labor an absurd amount, though the monetary value of this labor is often ignored. Steinem suggests considering how much a woman would earn (including overtime) if she swapped places with the stay-at-home mother from across the street and both were then compensated for their labor.
3. Members of oppressed groups often internalize their oppression, which manifests in trying to distance themselves from their group to advance in the patriarchal system. As an act of rebellion, Steinem recommends that women, who have no nation, convene together (ex. a weekly witch coven) to support one another. On an individual level, she recommends that members of oppressed groups commit to consciously doing one thing each day to advance their self-respect.
In conclusion, question the system, support your fellow witches, and know your own worth.
January 6, 2023
Eye-opening! I had no idea Virginia Woolf was sexually abused, that Karl Marx pawned his wife’s silver, or that Joan of Arc was recruited by the people’s army only to be burned at the stake when she became too powerful.
Ms. Steinem encourages all listeners to get in the habit of doing outrageous things (for example, telling someone to “Pick it up yourself”.), and promises the world will be the better for it. A simple, but electrifying challenge!
This was a recording of a speech given by Ms. Steinem at a Salem, Massachusetts university on the 300th anniversary of the witch trials there. Bravo!
Ms. Steinem encourages all listeners to get in the habit of doing outrageous things (for example, telling someone to “Pick it up yourself”.), and promises the world will be the better for it. A simple, but electrifying challenge!
This was a recording of a speech given by Ms. Steinem at a Salem, Massachusetts university on the 300th anniversary of the witch trials there. Bravo!
May 26, 2017
Twenty-five years later and still every bot as relevant.
August 25, 2020
Quick listen! It was a speech she gave at a university, so think of it more like a Ted Talk than a book. I did end up enjoying it, though!
October 5, 2023
Can’t believe it’s taken me this long to really get into Gloria. She’s so articulate and curious. I don’t agree 100% with everything she says and I can see how some folks would have been offended by her in her prime, but I think hearing her out is really important.
* Issues of self empowerment transcend party issues
* Men together will punish the weak member of their group and women together will punish the strong member
* We can’t fight sexism without also fighting racism
* You have a shared self interest in supporting the autonomy and dignity of others
* We’ve realized that women can do what men can do. The next leap forward, men can do what women can do.
* Until men are equal in the home, women can’t be equal outside the home
* Issues of self empowerment transcend party issues
* Men together will punish the weak member of their group and women together will punish the strong member
* We can’t fight sexism without also fighting racism
* You have a shared self interest in supporting the autonomy and dignity of others
* We’ve realized that women can do what men can do. The next leap forward, men can do what women can do.
* Until men are equal in the home, women can’t be equal outside the home
August 14, 2020
Fabulous and so timely.
The barrgain: She asks: if each of you promises me to do at least one outrageous thing in the cause of self respect and social justice . Whatever it is… in the next 24 hours starring tomorrow at 9am...
The barrgain: She asks: if each of you promises me to do at least one outrageous thing in the cause of self respect and social justice . Whatever it is… in the next 24 hours starring tomorrow at 9am...
June 11, 2021
Best speech I’ve ever heard. Gloria just has so much charisma that she could not hide. The tips and the end are inspiring, I want to read all her books now
May 16, 2019
Great to have on at any time: driving, working, walking, as soon as I woke up, before bed, these lectures are great. I love her work. Her responses are great for instagram posts and also life. Her goals are great.
There were very horrible true facts sprinkled in throughout the lectures. Often out of no where. Like how people do awful things unexpectedly in real life. Very true to life and I honestly was not aware of some of the historical facts she included. Interesting lectures. So glad to have picked up on Gloria Steinem. Took me long enough tbh.
There were very horrible true facts sprinkled in throughout the lectures. Often out of no where. Like how people do awful things unexpectedly in real life. Very true to life and I honestly was not aware of some of the historical facts she included. Interesting lectures. So glad to have picked up on Gloria Steinem. Took me long enough tbh.
June 20, 2020
This was my first of Gloria Steinem's books and it will absolutely not be the last. I listened to this talk, which was recorded right after Bill Clinton became the President in the early 1990s. Not a single thing she speaks on COULDN'T be applicable to today's political, racial, religious or feminist climate. I have come away not only with a new sense of the world we live in - but also a newfound sense of esteem for myself.
God, I love Gloria Steinem!!!
God, I love Gloria Steinem!!!
April 24, 2019
Incredible, insightful, and uplifting!! And also incredibly sad that 25+ years later these same issues are still so prevalent.
June 11, 2021
最后和观众的问答也很精彩
July 3, 2021
Recorded nearly 30 years ago and everything still resonates.
April 29, 2023
a full 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 stars!
‘We need scholars who are revolutionaries & who dare to think what we might study if we looked at the world as if everyone mattered.’
(around the 9 minutes 50 seconds mark, in the version i heard).
this is a very good example on Gloria’s skill of being articulate & genius while still being accessible. a very interesting & empowering talk.
this is a literal recording from a college talk Gloria Steinem did in Salem (USA) in 1993, it gives me the wonderful fangirl experience (as someone who is amazed with Gloria & by her career, life and ideas) of being able to experience a ‘talking circle’ a practice that Steinem recounts about with such happiness and affection in her books/works like ‘my life on the road.’
this audio is made up off powerful energy which greatly explains why Gloria Steinem is so brilliant & important. i’d highly recommend a listen. it’s a more than worthy time capsule of activist brilliance, because this felt like time travel into a small but impactful collection of revolutionary moments in time.
i’m in awe of everything, from her ideas in practice to her wit.
consuming this is one of the best decisions i’ve made this year. education made fascinating, people will now have to tolerate me unapologetically re-listening to this all the time.
‘We need scholars who are revolutionaries & who dare to think what we might study if we looked at the world as if everyone mattered.’
(around the 9 minutes 50 seconds mark, in the version i heard).
this is a very good example on Gloria’s skill of being articulate & genius while still being accessible. a very interesting & empowering talk.
this is a literal recording from a college talk Gloria Steinem did in Salem (USA) in 1993, it gives me the wonderful fangirl experience (as someone who is amazed with Gloria & by her career, life and ideas) of being able to experience a ‘talking circle’ a practice that Steinem recounts about with such happiness and affection in her books/works like ‘my life on the road.’
this audio is made up off powerful energy which greatly explains why Gloria Steinem is so brilliant & important. i’d highly recommend a listen. it’s a more than worthy time capsule of activist brilliance, because this felt like time travel into a small but impactful collection of revolutionary moments in time.
i’m in awe of everything, from her ideas in practice to her wit.
consuming this is one of the best decisions i’ve made this year. education made fascinating, people will now have to tolerate me unapologetically re-listening to this all the time.
December 15, 2019
3.5 stars.
Gloria Steinem makes some interesting and vital points in this pair of speeches that feel sadly all too relevant today. I didn't necessarily agree with everything she says (I don't think the politic she espouses is nearly radical enough and some of her historical generalizations have been debunked since she originally made these speeches), but I think she makes for a really solid starting place in a lot of ways. Her speaking is really engaging, and a pleasure to listen to.
Gloria Steinem makes some interesting and vital points in this pair of speeches that feel sadly all too relevant today. I didn't necessarily agree with everything she says (I don't think the politic she espouses is nearly radical enough and some of her historical generalizations have been debunked since she originally made these speeches), but I think she makes for a really solid starting place in a lot of ways. Her speaking is really engaging, and a pleasure to listen to.
December 24, 2021
This talk took place in 1993 in Salem, MA along with the 300 th anniversary of the Salem Witch Trials. I was not in attendance but I had heard about it. It finally crossed my radar in audio form and here we are.
This is for everyone. She is so adamant about doing the ground up work and including everyone. I love her. And she has practical suggestions. I read a library copy and held onto it for over a week until I could take notes.
This is for everyone. She is so adamant about doing the ground up work and including everyone. I love her. And she has practical suggestions. I read a library copy and held onto it for over a week until I could take notes.
January 12, 2025
Questo libro è stato pubblicato nel 1992. In un passaggio, scherzando Gloria Steinem dice tipo: "...vogliono mettere una legge contro la masturbazione"... Beh Gloria, io vorrei dirti che dopo 30 anni questa rimane solo una battuta, ma non ne sono più così sicura. La lotta non finisce, ma è anche vero che se sulle poltrone continuano a sedersi persone che non sanno nemmeno dialogare col prossimo, la legge contro la masturbazione non la vedo così lontana purtroppo.
September 18, 2018
A spectacular speech, wish I could have been in the audience. The audio was a recording of the live speech at a college in Salem for anniversary of the witch trials. I've read here and elsewhere that the persecution of witches is tantamount to a woman's holocaust. Great speech, tell everyone to read this!
October 30, 2021
Self esteem is something human beings, and especially women, are constantly robbed of, so I was interested in her point of view. I did enjoy it, the second part better than the first ones and little huge details such as the way temples or churches are built on the female human anatomy and also how the female reproductive organs are named with architectural names was important to me.
November 17, 2024
Gloria is such a powerful voice for women and the oppressed. I loved hearing this speech. I listened to the audio on Libby. Everything she’s saying should just be common sense and it’s so sad that the patriarchy continues to make women feel inferior and crazy. Remember they didn’t burn witches, they burned women!
July 4, 2018
A lovely speech. including the questions and answers at the end.
Inter-sectional feminism, architecture, how to equalize work among genders, and of course how patriarchy lives for one thing: to control women's reproduction.
Inter-sectional feminism, architecture, how to equalize work among genders, and of course how patriarchy lives for one thing: to control women's reproduction.
May 11, 2020
“Scholars, Witches, and other Freedom Fighters” is, perhaps, my favorite audio ever. Her words resonate as strongly now as if she were speaking them for the first time directly to me. Highly recommend to any activist, feminist, human, etc.
June 19, 2025
This is my first Gloria Steinem "book" (after watching the Mrs. America series). The reason for the moderate rating is purely because it is a talk and not a book.
That aside she brought up some thought-provoking topics and definitely left me wanting to hear more.
That aside she brought up some thought-provoking topics and definitely left me wanting to hear more.
May 12, 2017
Go Gloria!
June 20, 2017
Powerful speaker and definitely said some good things, but also said a lot of things that I just didn't agree with.
June 5, 2019
This speech by Gloria Steinem was recorded in 1993, but the content is (disappointingly) applicable today. It's powerful (as usual for Steinem) and prescient and fuck, NOTHING has changed.
August 22, 2019
Zero stars. Blames white men for every problem in existence. Denies any factual history and instead spins a narrative. Denies facts about sociology and economics. Praises a rapist.
September 3, 2019
Audiobook.
November 25, 2019
Very interesting stuff. I listened to the speech by Steinem and it made me wish I could attend one of her speeches.
November 25, 2019
Always love listening to her.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews