Passage Summary:
Gloria Steinem (1934-present) is an American feminist, journalist, author, and social-political activist. She gained national recognition as a leader of the "Second Wave" feminist movement in the 1960s and 1970s. On May 6th, 1970, Gloria Steinem stood before the Senate and delivered this speech, advocating for the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) and seeking to dispel myths about women.
When and How to Pair:
Introduce this text before students read the novel, in order to provide them with context on some of the social issues that were current during the time The Bell Jar is set. Pair “Testimony before the Senate Hearings on the Equal Rights Amendment” with The Bell Jar and ask students to consider attitudes towards women in the 1950s and1960s in the United States, when Silvia Plath lived. What was expected of women in the past? What were those expectations based on? How might women respond to those expectations today?