The event took place Thursday, December 2, 2004, at Masonic Auditorium in San Francisco and included a reading at 6:00 p.m. by Ms. Steinem, who is 70, on the subject of aging and also included a Q & A session. A special appeareance by Linda Tillery and her Cultural Heritage Choir followed including a reading by Elizabeth Bugental, author of AgeSong. The event began with a private reception with Ms. Steinem at 5:00 p.m. The reception were cohosted by California State Senator Jackie Speier.
The event was a benefit for Pacific Institute, a nonprofit corporation and its communications publishing project, Elders Academy Press.
Community Partners of this event include:
Bay Area Community of Women; Center for Gender Equity,
University of California, San Francisco; National
Center for Lesbian Rights; National Women's Political Caucus, San Francisco;
Queen's Bench Bar Association of the Bay Area; and, the Sausalito Woman's Club.
ABOUT GLORIA STEINEM
A devoted activist and writer, Gloria Steinem is
undeniably one of the most important voices of the
modern feminist movement. Perhaps best known as the
co-founder of Ms. magazine and co-founder of the
National Women's Political Caucus, Ms. Steinem's name
is synonymous with the advancement of women's social
equality in America and throughout the world.
Ms. Steinem on Aging
It's complicated.... Old is not a thing. We're the same people, going through a different stage. And I
just want to say to you, in the realism department, that 50 was much harder than 60.
Fifty was the end of this long familiar plateau that you entered at 13--you know, the country of the
female b stereotype. And when I got to 50, which is the edge of this territory--indeed, the edge used to be 35, 40,
we've pushed it to 50--then it was like falling off a cliff.
There was no map. Now it's true that I had been fighting with the map. But you're enmeshed with it
either way, whether you're obeying it or fighting with it. It was very difficult. So I'm not saying it's all
cheerful. I'm just saying that even though you realize the only country described to women is this 13-
to-50-year- old country, there is another country after 50. It's so exciting, and so interesting.
Remember when you were 9 or 10 or 11, and maybe you were this tree-climbing, shit-free little girl who
said, "It's not fair," and then at 12 or 13 you suddenly turned into a female impersonator who said,
"How clever of you to know what time it is!" and all that stuff?
Well, what happens is that when you get to be 60, and the role is over, you go back to that clear-eyed,
shit-free, I-know-what-I-want, I-know-what-I- think, 9- or 10-year-old girl. Only now--you have your own
apartment.
Community Partners of this event include:
American Association of University Women - San Francisco
Bay Area BusinessWoman
Bay Area Community of Women
Betty's List
Center for Gender Equity, University of California, San Francisco
Existential-Humanistic Institute
Hayes Valley Care Residence & Community for Seniors
Home Instead Senior Care, San Francisco
Korbel Champagne Cellars
National Center for Lesbian Rights
National Women's Political Caucus, San Francisco
Queen's Bench Bar Association of the Bay Area
San Francisco Public Library
Sausalito Woman's Club
Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center
Sonja Saltman
St. Supéry Vineyards & Winery
Synergy, LLC
The Heart Group
The Knitting Brigade
St. Supéry Vineyards & Winery is generously providing wines for the reception.
Korbel Champagne Cellars is generously providing wines for the reception.
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