Sep 3, 2026 · 15 min
Steinem links reproductive rights to the politics of power
Gloria Steinem in Conversation with David Remnick, from 2015
The conversation connects abortion, racial justice, women’s leadership, and movement-building to the deeper question of who controls political and social change.
- 1Steinem frames reproductive control as a fundamental question of power, not only a debate over personal choice.
- 2Movements can change institutions and laws, but durable progress also requires cultural change, empathy, and listening.
- 3Hostility toward women leaders reflects expectations about authority, family, nurturance, and who is permitted to wield power publicly.
Don't miss
Steinem’s turtle-rescue story becomes an unexpectedly durable metaphor for intervention, connection, and delayed understanding.
The brief
David Remnick revisits his 2015 conversation with Gloria Steinem, beginning with her memoir’s title and the origins of Ms. magazine’s name.
Steinem traces her understanding of abortion to Dr. John Sharp’s help in England, then argues that control over reproduction is fundamentally a question of power.
A discussion of Black Lives Matter and Hillary Clinton’s exchange with activists turns to how movements, institutions, laws, culture, empathy, and listening interact.
Steinem’s story of rescuing a turtle trapped in mud becomes a metaphor for intervention, connection, and lessons that may only become clear years later.
She examines hostility toward Hillary Clinton and other women leaders, linking it to gendered expectations about authority, family, and public life.
Revisiting backlash over her 2008 column on Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, Steinem closes on the resilience required to endure being misunderstood.
Books & mentions
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