CFDA Honors Gloria Steinem As Trump Moves To Curtail Women's Right To Birth Control, Bowing To Religious Forces

Feminist icon Gloria Steinem arrived on the national stage with her 1962 essay 'The Moral Disarmament of Betty Coed'. In 1963, Steinem famously used her good looks and socially-perceived 'hot bod' to work undercover at the Playboy Club, penning her experiences in an essay called 'A Bunny's Tale'. Feeling the backlash, in 2969 Steinem explained why men shouldn't fear feminists in 'After Black Power, Women's Liberation'. 

In 2017, many American women wonder why we can't cement our equality in 21st century America, where anti-feminist forces are perhaps more formidable than ever. Surrounded by pundits who argued that Hillary Clinton should drop the allegation that misogyny played any role in the 2016 election, former RNC chairman Michael Steele agreed that misogyny DID play a role, describing America as a very provincial nation with traditional views about women's roles. 

In the aftermath of Clinton's loss, the fashion industry is galvanized around women's issues, having taken a Clinton win for granted. On June 5, Steinem will receive the CFDA Board of Directors' Tribute for her endless legacy of work within the women's movement, in an honor presented by her close friend Diane von Furstenberg, a board member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America. 

In a week when the Trump administration is a Trump Tweet away from abandoning the Democrats argument that contraception is a fundamental plank of women's health with a dilution of the contraception mandate, the battle to control women's reproduction is a Republican priority. The move would impact thousands of women who currently get contraception from employer-provided insurance plans with no out-of-pocket costs. Trump believes that a company's CEO's religious beliefs should dictate the right of women's employees to affordable contraception. 

Gloria Steinem agrees that "we're all enmeshed in this political system that is devoted to controlling reproduction." This staggering reality is a dagger in the hearts of the majority of American women living in the 21st century. 

Vogue.com invites 17 self-described feminists to share their thoughts about feminism today and what Steinem means to them, from her writings to her street activism and also her revolutionary fashion style.