UCSB Arts & Lectures will be hosting Gloria Steinem at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in the Arlington Theatre for “An Evening with Gloria Steinem.”

A political activist, journalist and lecturer, Steinem has been a spokesperson for gender equality since her involvement as a leader of the feminist movement of the 1960s.

Tickets for her lecture, which sold for $50-$70 and $15 for students, are entirely sold out. To accommodate for the large numbers of students who didn’t purchase tickets in time, Arts & Lectures is now selling tickets for a Gloria Steinem simulcast, taking place at Campbell Hall. Tickets for the simulcast are still available at $10 for the general public and $5 for all students.

Steinem founded and has been a member of numerous organizations that work to empower women and pursue universal equality, including Voters for Choice, the Ms. Foundation for Women, the Beyond Racism Initiative, Equality Now, Donor Direct Action and Direct Impact Africa. Steinem has also played a role in the creation of the Women’s Action Alliance, an organization focused on children’s education, and the National Women’s Political Caucus, which works to close the gender gap present in politics.

Steinem presently sits on the board of the Women’s Media Center, an organization she co-founded that focuses on making female voices more visible in the media.

Much of Steinem’s renown came from her beginnings as a political journalist. Steinem was a columnist for New York magazine, which she helped to found, and worked as an editor for Ms. Magazine since helping to found it in 1972. Steinem’s work has also been published in Esquire, The New York Times Magazine and various publications in other countries.

Steinem has gained success as an author with a number of bestsellers, including her most recent memoir, released in 2015, My Life on the Road. According to the press release from Arts & Lectures, books will be available for purchase and signing.

She helped to co-produce “Multiple Personalities: The Search for Deadly Memories,” a documentary concerned with child abuse, and “Better Off Dead,” a film that focused on the dichotomy of those who oppose abortion while supporting the death penalty.

Steinem’s most recent work has been as a producer of the Viceland TV show “WOMAN,” which delves into the struggles of women all across the world.
Steinem has dedicated her life to social justice and continues to travel internationally as an lecturer and a spokesperson for all facets of equality.

According to the press release regarding the event, “An Evening with Gloria Steinem” is being sponsored by Sara Miller McCune, Lynda Weinman, Bruce Heavin, Wells Fargo Private Bank, KCBX 89.5 FM Santa Barbara, KCSB 91.9 FM, the Santa Barbara Independent, VOICE Magazine and Casa Dumetz Wines.

Cassidy Pyle, who is involved with campus feminist organization Associated Students Womxn’s Commission, said she has mixed feelings about Steinem’s upcoming talk.

“It is always worrisome to me when one speaker is seen as a figurehead for an entire movement, because it’s impossible that one person like Gloria Steinem can represent the multiplicity of feminisms that exist today and have existed for generations,” she said in an email.

Rose Houska, a third-year art and black studies double major and member of the Women’s Ensemble Theatre Troupe, said it is important to learn from historical icons like Steinem.

“It’s better to have more have more feminist speakers than not, especially those who have such a huge impact on our history, but important to be able to critique those people as well,” she said.

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