Gloria Steinem is an active woman with a purpose. Her whole life she was and is not afraid to go after what she wants and to fight for what she believes in. She is brave in her activism. She cannot and does not want to stop. She knows, understands, and appreciates of who she was and who she became.
She has created her own identity. To be able to do that Gloria walked many different paths to fully embrace the journey. She followed her famous saying, which stated that you first need to unlearn things imposed on you by your past and your surroundings to be able to create a unique YOU. In our MAY LUX magazine, we wanted to create a safe space for women to freely express themselves and their uniqueness, to release themselves from any stereotypical views and social norms.
We want women to find their own distinctive identity, so they are able to understand who they are and pursue their unique destination. Unlearn first. Forget the limitations that your culture, your religion, your family, your friends created for you. Break free out of those shackles and decide for yourself if they serve you or not if you can fully agree and accept them or if you have to adjust those rules to fit your new purpose. When you unlearn that and become open to new possibilities of this diverse world that we live in, you will feel that you can achieve anything you dream of. You can put a strategy in place to accomplish your goals. Every day, step-by-step you will come closer and closer to what you want.
Gloria is perceived as a calm and cool woman. When a woman knows what her purpose is and is happy with it and continuously works to achieve it, she is content. She often spoke up about controversial topics. Although, she had to deal with many aggressive outbursts and constant criticism concerning her and her actions, she never gave up. In her pursuits, Gloria is relentless to defend all those hurt, humiliated and weak. She wanted to give them voice and strength to get up from their knees and stand proudly with their back straight, facing the challenges ahead. In our MAY LUX magazine, we wish to create space, where women can feel free to express themselves and enjoy being who they truly are. We wanted to give home to women who feel lost, confused, disempowered, and forgotten.
Gloria Steinem is smart, kind, strong and empathetic. She is also an opinionated good listener. She is not afraid to be called a feminist, what is even more surprising for many, she is pound to be one. Despised by conservative, both men and women, she fought for a new world where women can think and decide for themselves. She did not fall into the stereotypical feminist category, as she was ‘’ too attractive’’. In my mind, that was actually brilliant that she falls into this conventional pattern of beauty while having such an unconventional mind and heart. She did not want to be defined by her level of attractiveness she wanted to be appreciated by the positive transformation she brought to the world. We wanted to create a magazine for all women who fell that they want something more, that they keep searching for inspiration to better their life and future of next generations. We wished to create space, where women can allow themselves the luxury to freely express themselves, to be who they truly are and to feel stunning and astonishingly powerful.
Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning.’’ Gloria Steinem
Author: Yenifer Lance