The Glorias (2020) - full transcript

- What are you in town for, hon?
- Dakota Sioux powwow.

No kidding. Hmm.

Hey, sweetheart,
can we get

some service around here?

You know, by afternoon there's
gonna be 300,000 bikers here

for the Annual Blackhills
Bike Rally. You didn't know?

No. No. Leave her alone.
Come on. Come on.

You're Gloria Steinem.

I am.

It's her. I told you.

Oh, wow.



I wanna tell you
how much Ms magazine

has meant to me over the years.

We love your work, Ms. Steinem.
You changed our lives.

That means a lot to me.
Thank you.

Um. You see the...

- the purple Harley out there?
- Mm-hmm.

That big gorgeous one?

That's mine.

She always used to ride
behind me.

Yeah. And I started reading
your magazine

and... and I decided
I wanted to take

to the road on my own.

Yeah.

Okay. Yeah.



- All good?
- Yeah.

Voila.

Who found us a jukebox
in the middle of nowhere?

That would be you.

It's, uh, just in case.

Hello?

This is she.

Hmm. Yeah.

I bet the roads are...

uh, I know they probably have
a tight schedule, but...

Uh-huh.

Papa!

The Andrews Sisters
aren't coming.

All right.

Now, I know you're all
a little disappointed,

but we've got
the Andrews Sisters here.

Right here on the jukebox.

Yeah. And we know
it's the next best thing.

So, let's get dancing.
I am your host Leo Steinemite.

Let's make it dynamite!

Hit it.

Aw.

Whoa!

- That was so much fun.
- Honey, look at you.

- I love dancing.
- Oh, you're soaked.

Was that jukebox not the find
of the century?

Why the long face?

One summer storm wipes us out
for an entire month.

You might as well
be playing Blackjack.

Ruth, you worry too much.

Gloria, Susanne,
it's time for bed.

They're gonna repossess our car,
Leo,

if we don't pay by the first
of the month.

So we'll park it down the road,
no one will find it.

We'll get out of town
in the fall. Huh?

We'll make a bundle
doing the county auctions

up and down the coast,
avoid the Michigan winter.

Pass through Georgia for those
thin sugary pralines.

Right? Drink ourselves
some fresh squeezed

all you can drink oranges

from those Florida roadside
stands and then head west

for some California sunshine
and slabs of fresh salmon

from a California smokehouse

by the time we get back
next summer...

we'll be on top again.

Come here, kiddo,
new set of maps.

See?

Okay.

We go from here, here,
and then like this...

all the way to...

And then what?

Well, you know what they say,
if you don't know

what's gonna happen tomorrow,
could be wonderful.

Everybody in.

- It's time to go, go, go.
- I'm not done with the dishes.

Oh, leave the dishes, they'll be
clean by the time we get back.

Mom.

The winter automatically
sterilizes the germs.

- Get the door for me.
- Damn It!

Damn It!

Come on, come on.
Right here, good boy.

Why'd you have to go name
the dog Damn It?

It's so embarrassing.

It'd be more embarrassing
if you had a father who swore.

Don't you think?

Gloria, you're gonna get
car sick reading in the back.

I never get car sick.

Put the book down for a minute
and look out of the window.

I looked out the window
an hour ago.

Gloria.

Look at those houses. Slow down,
Papa, aren't they pretty?

Don't you wish we lived
in a house like that

- all year round?
- Leo, we need to stay put

for a while and let the girls
go to school.

Gloria would be starting
the third grade by now.

No.
Traveling is the best education.

It's the only education really.

Leo?

I think this one is valuable.

Can you do this without me?
I have a splitting headache.

I need to go in for a lie down.

Right. There's no way
I'm paying 25 dollars

for this cracked tea set.

Five dollars is my final offer.

- Twenty.
- Fifteen?

Done.

We're gonna sell this
tea set to an antique dealer

for 50 bucks.

Mark my words.

And all we need is ten dollars
for gas money

to get us all the way
to Wyoming.

When we get to St. Louis
there's this one market,

all they sell is china...

Chai, madam?

Only one rupee, madam.

- Please.
- Oh, please, no. No, no.

Thank you.

So you left the university
in New Delhi. Why?

I wanna get out of the big city.
See the villages.

What Gandhi talks about.

She is traveling in third class

because,
this is ladies only carriage

and safer.

But why aren't you traveling
in a private car

like most of the foreigners?

If I was in a car by myself,

I wouldn't really even be
in India.

And I wouldn't have met you.

This used to be
our beautiful farmhouse.

Lots of land all around.

Your granny was born here,
Gloria.

Oh, good God.

Come inside, Mom.

You'll catch a cold.

Firemen drag their hoses

11 stories up to reach
the fire on the 79th floor...

So, where's your father
these days?

- South America.
- South America?

"Buying and selling opals
in Argentina.

Sending you a money order, love,
your pop."

Are you okay, Mom?

I'm fine.

Would you sign this check?
It's for the electric.

And I... I found these papers

while I was looking
for your checkbook.

What are they?

Oh, it's nothing.
It's just my old writing

when I used to work
at the newspaper.

But it doesn't say your name.

- It says Duncan McKenzie...
- McKenzie. That's me.

Duncan McKenzie.
That's what I went by.

That's the way it was for women
back then.

Imagine.

Well, why aren't you writing
anymore, Mom?

Are you hungry?

Do you want me to make you
a baloney sandwich

with red onions and mayonnaise?

No, thank you. I'm fine, dear.

You just run off and play
or read whatever you like.

Why are you tap dancing outside?

It's too loud for my mother
inside.

What's wrong with your mother?

We don't have linoleum.

We got linoleum.

I've got an extra pair
of tap shoes.

My big sister, Shirley,
she grew to size 12 this year.

Wait there.

- Ruby?
- Hi, Papa.

Come and sit down over here.

Papa, can I change the station?

- Yeah, go ahead.
- Just wait and watch.

Now, here is
Count Basie and his orchestra.

She can tap a little bit.

All right, now!

Oh, what, you want to see?

Back at ya, huh.

Aw man.

Look at that.

- Hey, that's nice.
- You got it.

Yeah!

- All right!
- Come now!

Whoo!

I'll tell you what,

you girls gonna tap dance
your way out of Toledo.

Into the heart of America.

That's my baby.

Yeah.

Can I help you?

Is there a girl here named
Gloria?

Your mama is looking
for you again.

Hollywood Boulevard
is a blaze of lights.

Thousands of people...

The green steam
calling me out

in full force this evening.
We promised to...

Brand new tickets,
brand new spirits.

Lovely DeLove,
Jean Harlow.

Where were you?

Where were you?

I was so worried about you,
Gloria.

I'm sorry, Mom.

I saw German soldiers outside
and I couldn't find you.

There aren't any soldiers, Mom.

I heard them outside.

The war...

There's no war, Mom.

It's okay. It's just
those Bukowskis at it again.

Did you forget
to take your Doc Howard's?

I couldn't find it.

Okay.

Okay.

Just one teaspoon.

This is your stop.

- What's going on?
- I fear there are caste riots,

if you go straight to
the Ashram,

it should be safe there.

Thank you.

Do you know the Ashram?

Oh, hello?

I've arranged to stay
in the guest house.

Madam Gloria?

- Yes, yes.
- Yes, hi.

But I'm afraid everyone is gone.

- Gone?
- Because of the riots,

you cannot stay here.

I leave today, you see?

We must do what we can to help.

You may come with me
if you like.

- Where?
- Village to village.

They need other women to listen
to their stories.

Otherwise village women
will not tell what happen.

They will stay silent.

I see.

Would you like to come?

Would I be out of place
as a foreigner?

To a woman in rural village,
a white woman in sari

will seem no stranger than a man
from New Delhi.

So, would you like to come?

Yes.

- When?
- Now.

- All right.
- Only the suitcase is too big.

You're American, I think.

- Yes.
- Can you travel light?

I'm very interested
in how Gandhi made non-violence

into a whole movement.

We women taught Gandhi
everything he knows.

Gandhi watched his mother
and aunties fight using Ahimsa.

- Ahimsa?
- Means non-violence.

You will see.

If you hope, people will change
how they live.

First, you should know
how they live.

Her daughter was raped
in front of her.

She could not do anything.

She took her to hospital...

People don't speak about this.

But I don't understand.

What does my mother have?

Anxiety, neurosis...

- low self-esteem, agoraphobia...
- Her spirit is broken.

That's a good a diagnosis
as any.

It's been broken for as long
as I've known her.

Before I was born.

Here madam.

"Gloria,
here's a money order.

When you're ready,
buy your passage home

by train and boat, it's cheap.

Then go out and purchase
the biggest star sapphire

in Jaipur you can find.

I'll meet you in San Francisco.

When your boat docks,
we'll sell that sapphire

for a profit that'll pay for us
to drive back east in style.

Can't wait to see you.
Your pop, Steinemite."

You look thin.

- It's called healthy, Pop.
- Have another egg roll for me.

Have you seen Mom?

Susanne wrote and said
she's doing a little better.

Holy moly this moo shu is...

is out of this world.

Mm.

Mm.

Did you get the...

Hmm.

- Is this what you had in mind?
- Fabulous.

You... you are a Steinem,
no doubt about it.

I, uh...

What's wrong?

Yeah, the star is a little
off kilter, not worth much.

Well, you didn't say
it needed to be symmetrical.

Don't worry, kid.

So, how are we gonna get
to New York?

I have enough gas money
to get us to Las Vegas.

And then?

Well, if you don't know
what's gonna happen tomorrow,

- it could be wonderful.
- It could be wonderful.

Let's hit the one arm bandit.

Beginners are queuing.

Beginners are always lucky.

- Trust me.
- All right.

Okay. Here we go.

Yeah.

Jackpot!

I knew it! Oh, you tripled
my last 50 bucks.

Jesus, Pop.
That was your last 50 bucks?

Oh, you only live once. Or less.

We're gonna run out of gas
in approximately three miles.

Open that glove compartment.

Yeah. Put on the nicest bracelet
you can find.

Add a ring.

Yeah, looking classy.

I've never sold any of my
jewelry before.

But my father and I find
ourselves in a terrible pickle.

This is a family heirloom.

Aye, criminy.
Will you listen to that?

I sent my slogan in a year ago
for that darn brand.

Double the flavor,
double the fun,

you know, with Doublemint,
Doublemint gum.

Fa, fa, flavor, fun.
Alliteration.

And it's two Doublemints,
not three, for God sakes, two.

I think it was double good,
twice.

Yeah, well, it...

Yeah, slogans are tough.

You send them in registered
mail to the ad agencies.

And then you cross your fingers
that the bastards

don't steal the ideas.

I'm on a five, Harry.

Can you make me
a pastrami on rye?

- I love New York.
- Well...

if you can't find a job writing
you can always...

fall back on your dancing.

Sure, Pop.
You want me to be a Rockette?

I know you wanna be a journalist
like your mother,

but if you can't find work using
your fingers at a typewriter

you can always use those legs.
Hmm?

I read in Variety,
there's even a chorus line

looking for five Beta-Kappa
girls over five-foot seven

to dance in an outfit
called the High-Five Betas.

That's you.

I've got an interview
in ten minutes.

- Wish me luck. See you at 6:00?
- Yeah. I'm on my way out.

I got an auction in Jersey later

then down to New Orleans
the day after.

Okay.

Remember, those desk jobs
can fatten your ankles.

- Us Steinems like to move.
- Hmm.

Sure do.

- I'm here to see Mr. Anderson.
- He's back office.

Hmm, I see you've read
some stuff at college, but...

...listen,
here at the magazine,

we hire girls that do
the research

- and the men write.
- Why is that?

It's just the w...

You're right.

Why is that?

Okay. So, what do you wanna
write about?

I, uh...

I... I just returned

from two years
traveling in India.

The experiences and the stories
I saw and heard are amazing

- and I would just love to...
- Look.

I'm gonna try you out

on a fashion assignment.

American women

explain an advertising man
happily,

have gone absolutely...

out of their minds
from the knee down.

Good job, Gloria,
and it's funny.

Rare to see a woman writer
with a sense of humor.

Thanks. I was thinking...

what about a profile
on Mayor Lindsay?

What about a profile
of his wife?

I'm sure she's very interesting.

But as a general rule,
I'm more interested

- in politicians.
- General rule.

You're too young
to have general rules.

Look. You're nothing
like our lady readers,

but you're female, so try
to put yourself in their place

for this next assignment.

Spice it up
with some of your wit.

We need it tomorrow morning.

You can use Percy's desk.
He's out on assignment.

Gloria?

- It's Gloria, right?
- Good teaser.

Uh. The coffee's out.
Could you make some more?

- Here you go.
- Just a second.

Yeah. I'll... I'll hold.

Yup. Right here.

- Here it is.
- Thanks, hon.

Oh, also, Gloria...

would you mind...

Mailing these letters
and then...

you can meet me at the Hilton,
Suite 910.

A hot fudge sundae, please.

How about some eggs first?

- No.
- No? Okay.

Coming right up.

One hot fudge sundae
for breakfast.

With whipped cream on that.

I just quit a job.

You want a cherry on top?

Sure.

- Eat your vegetables, Gloria.
- I'm not hungry.

Sometimes you're hungry
for one thing and not another.

Leo!

Here.

Oh, you got to stuff it, Marie.

- Stuff it?
- Here. Just in and up.

No, don't use dry cleaning bags
they'll make you sweat.

- You can use Kotex pads.
- Work it up bunny tails.

Poor little bunny.

Bend over
at the waist, sweetheart.

A little more.

You got to smile.

They give us demerits
if we don't smile.

Demerits?

Yeah.
Pay cuts if you don't smile.

If you don't fit
into your costume.

Or if we don't do
the bunny dip while serving.

The bunny dip?

Like so.

You'll get the hang of it.

Oh, and one more thing,
little one,

don't sleep with the customers.

Even if they have
a member's key.

Marie, you okay in there?

- They need us upstairs, pronto.
- Okay.

Yeah.
She may need to go forward.

Seriously.

- Whatever you want.
- He's always...

Oh, no, they walked out
onto the sidewalk there,

really, I...

- Yes.
- And... Unbelievable.

It's been two weeks.
I still haven't been paid yet.

That's because we're still
in training.

Is that normal?

Some bunnies train
for three weeks

with no pay at all.

Lipstick on the glasses again.
Who's not doing their job?

I've been working nine hours
straight with no break.

- My feet are killing me.
- Is that even legal?

What's legal got to do with it?

Have you had
your medical exam yet?

What?

- Here you go.
- Thank you.

They want to make sure
you don't have any diseases...

down there.

Danny, can I get a scotch
and two martinis?

Make 'em dry.

- Maybe we ought to join a union.
- Keep dreaming, sister.

"What really goes on
in their glamorous

and exciting world,

to find out Show Magazine
chose a writer who combines

the hidden qualities
of a Phi Beta Kappa

magna cum laude
graduate of Smith College

- Well, tell him...
- with the more obvious ones

of an ex-dancer
and beauty queen."

Where is she? Where is she?

Great job. You sold
thousands of magazines

and now we got a lawsuit
on our hands.

- Oh, Jesus.
- No, it's great. Publicity.

Selling like hotcakes,

really great.

I got a call for you, Gloria,
line two.

- Hello.
- Write another word

about Playboy
and you'll never work again.

We'll hit you
with so many lawsuits

you won't be able to
stand up straight

in high heels or flats.

The longest ears.

Hey, Gloria.

How about next time
going undercover

in the porno business?

Just kiddin'.

You know, you'd look cute
as a bunny, Leon.

Yeah.

The costumes are so tight
that they'd give a man cleavage.

Then you could look at yourself

in the mirror all day

instead of staring
at the secretaries

on your lunch break.

- You wanted to see me.
- Come in.

Publishing house called,
wants to make "A Bunny's Tale"

into a full-length book.
What do you say?

No, thank you.

- It's good money.
- I don't care. I'm a writer.

If I publish that book,
I'll be a bunny forever.

No, those are too big.
They hide your beautiful face.

They're perfect.

- In there.
- Thank you.

Let's get you
a little more comfortable here.

You doing all right?
Let me just pull that off.

Great.

- Gloria.
- How are you, Mom?

Oh, let's not talk about me.

Now, look at this.

One of the nurses
gave it to me.

I was hoping
you wouldn't see it.

Why not?

I don't know. It's just...

It doesn't seem to matter
why I was a bunny.

It doesn't seem to matter
that I was exposing

horrific working conditions.

All that seems to matter
to people is that I was a bunny.

I wish I'd never put on
that stupid outfit.

So, people saw you as a bunny,
so what?

You're a writer.

You have a real byline.

Look at that.

I'm so proud of you, Gloria.
This is important journalism.

Those women in bunny outfits,
they're gonna thank you one day.

Mom, before you met Pop,

you were writing serious stuff
all the time.

If I pressed and asked her,
"Why didn't you leave?

Why didn't you take my sister
and go to New York and write?

Do what you wanted to do."
She would say it didn't matter.

That she was lucky
to have my sister and me.

And if you'd pressed
hard enough, she'd have said,

"If I left, you never would've
been born."

I never had the courage to say,

"But you would've been born
instead."

Martin Luther King

is leading a civil rights march
on Washington.

- I wanna cover it.
- Love the glasses.

Gloria, for better or worse,

this bunny article put you
on the map.

It can write your ticket
but this is not a good idea.

I think it is.

It'll be a massive campaign
against discrimination

for new Federal laws, for jobs.

No, this march
will probably amount

to a handful of people
and be a complete bust.

Really? This is huge.

There are civil rights marches
out there

who are being beaten, jailed,
and even murdered in the South.

Some with police collusion.

The White House is saying
we'll turn off

the moderates in congress,

who are needed to pass
the Civil Rights Act.

Okay.

Then what about that profile
on James Baldwin?

Great.

He's gonna be at the march on
Washington.

I don't want you
at the march on Washington.

It's gonna be too dangerous.

You wanna do a story on Baldwin,
fine, great.

Just wait until he gets back
from DC.

- Hello?
- I've been trying

- to reach you for a week.
- Susanne, I'm...

I'm so sorry.

- I've been on the road non-stop.
- It's dad.

He's had an accident
on the highway in California.

- How serious is it?
- It's bad.

But they say he'll pull through.

Okay. Thank God.

He's in the hospital.
He'll probably be out in a week

and then he'll have
all kinds of rehab.

Listen, Gloria, I can't fly
out there right now.

The kids are starting school
and... Can you go?

I know you're working, but...
But could you go?

In a week.
He should be out by then.

Of course.

Paging Ms. Gloria Steinem.

Please pick up
a white courtesy phone.

Paging Ms. Gloria Steinem.

Please pick up
a white courtesy phone.

Why was there no family here?

- I got here as soon as I could.
- He was here alone for a week.

His death was caused
by gushing traumatic ulcers,

not from the crash itself,
but from stress.

Despair.

I'm sorry. Please excuse me.

I don't know
why I didn't go right away.

Because you were afraid
if you went,

you'd never come back

and end up caring for him,
like you did for your mother.

That's shit and you know it.

- Lemonade?
- Oh, thank you.

You're welcome.

It's gonna be a long hot day.

You know, I worked in Washington

during
the Truman administration.

In the same room
as white clerks. Hmm.

But segregated behind a screen.
Couldn't protest then.

So, here I am today.

Now, now, now.

That's Dorothy Height,

up on the speaker's platform.

She's head of the National
Council of Negro Women.

- In the history...
- But why isn't she speaking?

- Of this nation.
- And where's Ella Baker

who trained all the
SNCC young people?

- Oh, Mama. Don't go on.
- Or... Or Fannie Lou Hamer.

She got beat up in jail
and then sterilized

in a Mississippi Hospital

when she went in
for something else entirely.

That's what happens.

We supposed to give birth
to field hands

when they need them
and not when they don't.

My grandmother was dirt poor.

She got paid 75 dollars
for every live birth.

Difference between her
and Fannie Lou

is farm equipment.

They didn't need
many field hands anymore.

I think I just might have a word
with my state delegation leader.

You always have to make a fuss.

That's right, I do.

- Excuse me.
- ...while we are not.

Excuse me.
Why are there no women speakers?

Oh, Mahalia Jackson
and Marian Anderson

gonna be singing
in just a minute.

Singing ain't speaking.

Excuse me. Excuse me.

What you just did,

that was bold.

It was nothing much.

Then why do I always end up
giving my suggestions

to the man on my left, so he can
take them to the man in charge?

This guy on my left

will be taken more seriously
than me.

That simple.

You white women.

If you don't stand up
for yourselves,

how you gonna stand up
for anybody else?

We will now be blessed
with a solo...

- Mahalia is about to sing.
- By Mahalia Jackson.

Jack told me the secret
to interviewing Bobby Kennedy.

- Jack?
- Jack Newfield

from The Village Voice.

He said, um, Bobby
only answers questions

if he thinks the reporter
doesn't know the subject

or better yet, even disagrees,

so... so we're gonna
have to pretend

we don't know the answers
to our questions.

You know, Mr. Bennett,
that every year,

there's a pretty girl
who comes to New York

and pretends to be a writer
before she gets married.

Well, Gloria
is this year's pretty girl.

You know what,
you can say what you want,

but some of us
are actually becoming the man

we thought we wanted to marry.

Did you say something?

I didn't say anything.
Why didn't I object?

- Get out and slam the door.
- No, no, you will.

You will and...
And plenty of times,

like, lots of times.

Speaking your mind
will get you in deep trouble.

Right?

Love the Bobby piece.
You're a good writer, Gloria.

In fact, you write like a man.

Is that a compliment?

- Funny.
- Listen, I've...

I've done the profiles.

Bobby Kennedy, Baldwin, Bellow,
Dorothy Parker,

I even did
the Marco Fontaine piece

about the dancer I couldn't be.

Max, I...

I want to write
about the women's movement.

- What movement?
- I wanna write

about why the face of congress
is male,

and the face of welfare
is female.

Why homemakers are called
women who don't work.

Though they work longer, harder,
and for less pay

- than any other class of worker.
- Gloria, I...

I wanna write about
why women are 70 percent

of the productive labor
in the world, paid and unpaid.

Yet they own only one percent
of the property.

- Are you finished?
- I wanna write about

why masculinity means leading
and femininity means following,

in the odd dance of daily life.

Well?

Look, I'm sorry.

But if I publish an article
saying women are equal,

I'll have to publish one
side by side

saying that they're not.

It's not my opinion.

But in journalism, as you know,
you got to be objective.

Is that how you covered
the civil rights movement?

In ninth grade,

our cheerleading coach
got my friend pregnant.

He threatened to kill her
if she told.

She borrowed money
from everyone.

He wrote a check on her dad's
account to go to a, uh.

An abortion doctor.

But she didn't go.

She got too scared...

that he would tell someone
and her parents would find out.

So, she...

She used a coat hanger.

The next day, they found her
in the girls bathroom...

dead.

You do not have any children?

Meaning husband.

- No.
- Why no husband?

Congrats on your graduation,
kid. I'm so sorry

I can't be there.

It's okay.

Mom will be there.

Well, she sold the house to pay
for Smith College,

you bet she'll be there.

She's very proud of you.

I know.

Pop, how'd you convince her
to marry you?

I told her it'll only take a
minute.

Where are you?

U.S. 95, Idaho.

The annual Boise jam fair
starts tomorrow, crack of dawn.

Hey, and how's that handsome
fiancé of yours?

He seems like a good guy.
I like him.

Maybe he's not as smart
as you are, but who is?

Pop.

So, when's the big day?

You know, I'll be there
to walk you down the aisle,

you can count on that.

Actually, um...

that's what I wanted
to talk to you about.

I might have to postpone that.

I got a fellowship to study
and... and travel.

Uh, someone's paying you
to travel?

Very good. Where to?

- India.
- Wow. India.

About as far away
as you can get.

So, you're not disappointed...

About the wedding?

Hell no, Gloria.

This opportunity is fantastic,
you can get married anytime.

You let me know
when you get to Jaipur,

because they have
superlative gems.

You know,
I'll send along a money order.

- Deal?
- Sure, Pop.

Okay.

Talk soon.

Love you.

Okay.

Are you all right, miss?

Can I get you something?
Water, perhaps?

No, um, I'm fine. Thank you.

So...

How did you find my name?

Through a friend.

Oh, you're American.

What are you doing in London?

Waiting for a visa.

I have a fellowship
to study in India.

- Ah.
- It's a two-year fellowship.

I see.

I can't have this baby.

I'm sorry, I'm...
I'm not married.

I'm not ready.

And you are aware
that what you're asking

isn't, strictly speaking, legal,
even here.

Not unless it threatens
your life.

I know.

All right.

You must promise me two things.

First...

you must not tell
anybody my name.

Second...

you will do what you want to do
with your life.

Did I keep my promise?

I was just at a speak out
about illegal abortion.

I have to write about it.

Gloria, you've worked so hard
to be taken seriously.

You're saying,
this isn't a serious issue?

- It's not what I said.
- If this magazine

won't write about it,

then I'm just gonna have
to speak about it.

You can't associate yourself
with those crazy women.

I just realized something.

What?

I am one of those crazy women.

Hello.

Hello.

I said, hello!

Thank you for being here.

My name
is Dorothy Pitman Hughes.

And I have three children.

Three children
that I love deeply.

And the one thing I have noticed
is that too many women

are being forced to leave
their children home alone

while they work
to feed their families.

We need childcare
and we need it now.

And here to join me
in the conversation

is a new friend.

She wanted to speak out today.

- A journalist, Gloria Steinem.
- Okay.

Until recently, I wouldn't have
admitted the equality.

So, the inequality
of my own life.

Even though I was discriminated
against in journalism.

Journalism which allows women
to write about women,

and black people
to write about black people.

But keeps editorial control in...

But keeps editorial control
in white male hands.

I'll meet you there.

But I'm...

But I'm here to tell you that
the majority of the population

cannot be
its second-class citizens.

It didn't work in South Africa
and it can't work here.

- South Africa?
- Really?

I have no idea
what I even said.

It was like an out of body
experience.

- You've never spoken before?
- No.

I figured if no one
lets me write

about the women's movement
I may have to speak about it.

There's only one problem.

What?

I'm terrified
of public speaking.

Well, that was obvious,
but I'm not.

We'll get it together.
Don't worry about it.

So,
what exactly happens

before you speak in public?

First my heart pounds
then my mouth goes dry.

It feels sort of, like,
an Angora sweater

is wrapped around each tooth.

I'm worried about getting
to the end of each sentence

without swallowing and...

I think I'm going to die.

Hm.
Well, I think I can help.

Writers usually have
the most trouble

speaking in public,

because they chose
a profession purposely

in which they can communicate
without speaking.

Well, writers and dancers.

Are you okay?

Okay.

I love dancing.

I will confess that I have
a fear of public speaking.

But what Dorothy
and I have to say

is too important not to say it.

Is there anyone else
in the audience

also scared of public speaking?

Right.

Thank you, um.

Now, let's get
to the root cause here today.

Reproductive rights,

women need to decide...

the fate of our own bodies.

All right. Everyone out
of the room immediately.

- Come on, move it.
- Just go, go. Just go.

Now!

- He said there's a bomb.
- A bomb?

- Wait outside.
- From who?

I don't know.

Apparently, they got a call

from a Right to Lifer.

It's just incredible
that those maniacs

don't even see the irony
in threatening the lives

- of all these people.
- I'm okay.

- Hurry up.
- Let's go.

The social and economic
revolution of the farm workers

is well under way.
And it will not be stopped

until we receive equality.

And we don't wanna eat food
that was picked in poverty.

And as fellow New Yorkers,
neither should you.

We wanna thank Dolores Huerta
who has come from California

to be with us here today.

- We support the boycott!
- Thank you.

There will be strikes
throughout this country

because we have shown
what can be done.

Every minute is a chance
to change the world.

Can we change the world?

Yes, we can.

I'll pitch an article
of the boycott to my editor.

We'll get you a story out.

You can try.

But you know
orange juice companies

advertise in magazines, right?

Don't waste your breath
just on print.

Take it on the road.

Keep talking.

How are your kids?

My kids...

they're mad at me.

I'm never home.

Hm. I hear you. It's tough.
Let's just hope it's worth it.

This year, the press has finally
discovered a movement

that has already been strong
for several years now.

And reported it as a small
privileged rather lunatic event

instead of a major revolution
in consciousness.

Everyone's consciousness. Male
and female, Black and white.

This is the year

of women's liberation.

University of Alabama,
Pennsville, October 12.

Salem's College.
Bristol, Virginia on the 13th.

Florida State University
on the 4th...

Could you
please not do that here?

- Or go into the lavatory?
- That's obscene.

Actually, refusing
to feed a child is obscene.

Gloria.

I'm not sure how...
How much longer

I can keep doing this.

- Breastfeed on planes?
- No.

Deal with the stupidity
of white people?

Yes.

But no.

Being on the road this much...

it's hard on the kids and...

and, um, I need to be at home
more next month.

Do you think you can do
some of these talks without me?

By myself?

Well. No. Because...

I have this friend...

a civil rights lawyer.

Flo Kennedy.

A landlord is not allowed
to deny you housing

because you are single.

- That is some bullshit.
- Yes, Flo.

Thank you.

Being a mother
is a noble thing, right?

- Yes.
- So, why does it change

when you put unwed
or welfare in front of it?

No!

Shit.

Listen to me, listen to me.
There are very few jobs

that actually require a penis
or a vagina.

Every other job should be open
to everybody.

- Everybody!
- Yeah.

You need to make some noise.

Rattle your cage, dog, cause
some trouble.

You might not win right away,
but goddamn,

you will have
a whole lot more fun.

Well.

I wanna introduce you to my new
partner and cage rattler.

Gloria Steinem.

Welcome her.

All right, all right, girl!

What are you, lesbians?

What are you, the alternative?

Oh, my God. Can I please
introduce you next time?

It's such an anticlimax
if I speak after you.

It wasn't as bad as all that.

Just next time,
not so many statistics.

You know, when you're laying
in a ditch

with a truck on your ankle,

you don't send somebody
to the library

to find out how much it weighs.

You get it the hell off.

Thank you.

I'm a loudmouth,
middle-aged, colored lady

with a fused spine and three
feet of intestines missing.

Now, a lot of people think
I'm crazy,

maybe you do, too,

but I never stop to wonder
why I'm not like other people.

The mystery to me is
why more people aren't like me.

What do you think?

The book is outstanding.

How'd you get the testimony
from all those women

for the lawsuit?

For once being a lawyer
didn't hurt.

- And you got it published.
- Mm-hmm.

Amazing.

I like the title, Abortion Rap.

Was that yours or Diane's?

which is 88 to 77.

In a jockacratic society,
you can turn on the radio

and hear every goddamn
basketball score in this country

repeated all day long.

You never hear how many women
die of illegal abortions.

I tell you, if men
could get pregnant,

abortion would be a sacrament.

You gotta stay
on the street.

Gloria,
can you address

this new term, sexual harassment

and whether you've ever
experienced it?

And, Flo, could you talk about
racism in America?

I just wanna point out that
you directed a question to me

about universal womanhood
and to Flo

about the condition
of being black.

Do you think Flo is unable
to answer a question

about the condition
of being a woman?

Ms. Kennedy, what do you
have to say about that?

When you've experienced
bullshit in one form,

you're more likely to recognize
it in another.

Racism and sexism
are intertwined.

They cannot be
uprooted separately.

Ms. Steinem, a lot of people say
your looks are why people

listen to you,
not what you have to say.

- Is that a question?
- Oh, yeah.

Don't worry, Gloria,
it's important for someone

who can play the game and win

to say the game
isn't worth shit.

- Have you ever been married?
- No. Uh-huh.

- That's all?
- Yeah, well, next question.

Zoom in camera one and two.

Why not?

- All right.
- Is that your next question?

Why not?

I don't know.

But do you ever
wanna be married?

Eventually, but, um...

it keeps receding two years
in a comfortable distance.

Do you think that there's a...

paradox between women's
attitudes toward the fact

they don't wanna be treated
as sex objects

and the fact that
you dress very sexily?

You think I'm dressing
very sexily?

Yes. That's a pretty
sexy outfit, I'd say.

I mean, I, um...

I hope you'll forgive our
masculine notion

that you are an absolutely
stunning sex object.

Well, yeah. Uh.
This is my uniform.

Black jeans,
black long-sleeve top.

Minimalist,
perhaps more comfortable

than your uniform
with its striped tie

that pinches your neck and
your cuffs you keep adjusting.

Maybe I should
wear this uniform instead

and leave the sex object
to your imagination.

Or this uniform.

Go ahead, grab my tail.
That's what it's there for.

We love our girls in uniforms.

What's a sex object?

As I said, black jeans
and a black jersey, a uniform.

Got a problem

with that, asshole?

Double, double, toil, and
trouble.

-Double, double,
-Double, double,

- toil, and trouble.
- Toil, and trouble.

What the hell is she doing?

Not answering him.

Could you rewind that, please?

What were you saying?

I hope you forgive

our masculine notion
that you're an absolutely

stunning sex object.

Forgive...

and forget.

- For you.
- Thank you.

Oh, you finally got yourself

a grown-up apartment, Gloria.
Congratulations.

- It's about time. We...
- Really?

We thought we'd have to stage
an intervention on you.

Oh, thank you, Brenda,
she's perfect.

She'll ward off the demons that
are definitely going to descend.

All right.
So now that you got us up

to your groovy new pad,

what is this, a summit,
an insurrection?

- Coffee Club?
- Should.

- All three of them.
- No. I was...

I was just thinking, we've...
We've been, um...

speaking all over the place,
but our writing,

at least my writing,
about the movement

never gets published.

Does that happen to you?

Maybe, um, maybe we should

have some kind
of a newsletter, right?

Nobody reads a newsletter.

What we need
is a bitchin' magazine.

Do you really think
there's a demand for a magazine?

- Yes.
- Yes.

You need a lot of people buying
a magazine to make it work.

Do you think
there are that many people

interested
in serious women's issues?

If it tanks, it'll harm
the movement.

Can't worry about that.

Look, I can't get a single story
about a real woman

published in magazines
run by men.

Even the Ladies Home Journal
is run by a guy.

What do we call it?

Sisters. This.

As a recovering Catholic,
I think,

we'd get the wrong demographic.
No offense to anyone here.

Okay, then. How... how
about Sojou... Sojourner?

Yeah, it sounds
like a travel magazine.

- As in truth.
- No, I know,

- I know what you mean.
- Something that reflects

the community.

Wait. How about Ms.?

Ms. Magazine?

Some political leaders,
and some others,

have taken to
not addressing women

by miss or missus.

Uh. By... they've gone
to the miss, M-S.

Why not do that
with White House letters?

I... I guess,
I'm a little old-fashioned,

uh, but, uh, I rather...
Rather prefer

the miss or missus or...

Well, it's not miss,
it's not missus,

it's just
none of your goddamn business.

Yeah, I can assure you
some of the things...

- Ms.
- Well,

it does have one big advantage.

- What?
- It's short.

Oh, sorry, Clay.

So we have a great cover.

What do we have
for the first issue?

First, we'll have Judy's satire,
"I Want a Wife".

- Mm-hmm.
- Then

"Welfare is a Women's Issue".

And your piece on sisterhood.

Um. All the magazine people
said,

"Don't do a lesbian story
in the first issue."

So, I feel like we need
to do a lesbian story, right?

- Absolutely.
- I agree.

Excellent.

And that leaves room
for one more story.

What about women's image
in advertising?

Look at this.

"It's nice to have a girl around
the house."

- Oh, come on.
- Look at this.

Yeah. They go with that.

With the hood on the head,
they're playing a game

with broomsticks.

Okay. Let's not alienate
potential sponsors

- right out of the gate.
- No, let's,

because they're not gonna
support us anyway.

So, what do you want?
What do we...

- What do we want it to be?
- Abortion.

- What about it?
- Flo's right. We all know

someone who's had one
and no one ever talks about it.

What if we got a large group
of prominent women

to sign a proclamation saying,
"I've had an abortion."

Don't you think people
will be turned off by this?

This could be the first
and last issue.

- As it is for a lot of women.
- Everyone, we're here

to make revolution,
not just dinner.

How many of us here
have had an abortion?

Okay. You do realize
we're asking people to admit

breaking the law.

If one person does it,
it's illegal.

Thousands do it,
it's a movement.

Are we gonna do this for real?

We have to... right?

Baby, we got to stop sucking,
and begin to bite!

Yes!

- Yeah.
- All right.

Agitate, sisters,

agitate, agitate.

The first edition of Ms.,

described as a new magazine
for women,

is at hand, and it's pretty sad.

It is sad because
it is so clearly just another

in the great
but irrelevant tradition

of American shop magazines.

They've said it all
in the first little issue.

After you've gotten marriage
contracts, role exchanging,

and the female identity crisis,
what do you do?

Organic foods for
Christmas dinner, I suppose.

Not even the most Neanderthal
of us like predictability.

I suppose to these ladies,

the most patronizing thing
you can say is I'm sorry.

But I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
Howard?

One of the responsibilities

that ought to go with
the privilege

of comment in this space

is the willingness to admit
past error.

Therefore, I humbly admit
that I was wrong

when I predicted that Ms.,

the magazine
of women's liberation...

would fold after five

or fewer issues.

In an era when magazines
founded and led by men

are dying like flies,

Ms. has every right
to feel proud.

Oh, thank you for telling us
we have the right

to feel proud, you moron.

- Unbelievable.
- Now what?

Now we work on the next issue.

And because we aren't going
to get any advertisements

from cosmetics
and fashion companies

as we are not praising
their products

in our articles,
as of tomorrow...

We raise a shitload of money.

I hate asking for money.

Oh, but you're so good at it.

Harvard Law,
should've asked

Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

They wouldn't ask Ruth.
She left Harvard for Columbia.

Well, you could've asked Flo.

Are you out of your mind?

Last year, she staged
a public urination event

at Harvard to protest the lack
of women's bathrooms.

At least,
she's a bona fide lawyer.

I'd like to speak to some
of the female students.

I've... I've a few hours
before the speech, right?

Yes.

Can you tell me
a little bit about

what it's like to be a woman
at Harvard Law?

Get ready.

They said they can't hire
a female professor

because we create
sexual vibrations.

Shh!

In criminal law, we study
the reasonable man test.

And basically it means,
you know,

the hypothetical, um, standard
for gauging

whether someone has committed
a crime or not.

- Mm-hmm.
- And when my professor

explains
the reasonable man test,

he jokes

that there's no such thing
as a reasonable woman.

Last year, they ended
the tradition of lady's day.

- What's lady's day?
- The only time all year

when women are called on
in class.

Don't they usually hold this
at the Harvard Club?

They can't this year.

Women there have to use
the side entrance.

Gloria.

Do you realize
you're the first woman

honored to address
this elite white

bastion of male superiority?

- You want a drink?
- Uh-uh.

I thought
I would talk about

why Harvard Law School

needs women
more than women need it.

You may have seen me
around campus

interviewing the seven percent
of students here who are female.

I wanted to relay
some of their experiences,

from professors calling rape
a very small assault...

to the fact
that the course catalog

portrays no interest
in half of the human race.

There is everything
from the Chinese attitude

toward international law,

uh, to a course
on international whaling law.

But none on women's rights
internationally.

Absolutely nothing for, by,
or about women.

As women, we have been
studying our own absence...

for far too long.

What right do you have to judge
Harvard Law School?

How dare you!

You're not even qualified
to speak at this institution.

Baby, just pause.

Let the audience absorb
the hostility

then you say...

I didn't pay him to say that.

Three forms of address
used in English.

Mr., Mrs., which used to stand
for mistress, and Miss.

But as of today, there are four.

Ms. has been added
to the US government

list of acceptable prefixes.

"Ms.," says the government is

quote, "An optional female title

without marital designation."

In more
news today,

women are marching
in the streets

and running for congress.

Bella Abzug
known as Battling Bella

is challenging an incumbent
on New York's west side.

Helping her campaign,
the increasingly visible

face of the women's movement,
Ms. Gloria Steinem.

Good job, Bella!

I wish they loved you that much
in the liberal suburbs.

Why should they?

I'm everything they moved
to the suburbs to escape,

the daughter of a Jewish butcher
from the Bronx.

I've got to convince them
that... that this girl

who worked at her father's

Live and Let Live
butcher shop is a step up.

Well, we're gonna go
to all the places that people

- don't usually campaign.
- Okay.

You need Bella Abzug
as your congressperson.

Nineteenth District,
Greenwich Village,

lower east side.

It's the greatest things of all,
is the sense of injustice

and you've got that
and I think that's fantastic.

Most people in the mid-west,
they don't have that.

- Oh, call me Bella.
- Hi.

Nice to see you.
Don't forget to vote.

Oh, no.

- You want a pretzel?
- Oh, of course.

You see... you see, Gloria,

it's not enough just for me
to get elected.

We need women of all colors
and stripes

on both sides of the aisle.

I mean, we don't want to replace
a white male middle class elite

with a white female
middle class elite.

No offense to Betty Friedan.

Betty's pissed.

- Why?
- Because the media

is calling you
the face of feminism

and her the mother
of the movement.

It makes her feel done.

You haven't read what she's been
saying about you?

- Hmm.
- No. I haven't read any of it.

- Why?
- "The disruptors of the women's

movement are the ones
trying to push lesbianism

or hatred of men

- onto the movement."
- Okay. Okay. Stop it.

She thinks you're profiteering

off the movement
with Ms. magazines.

As if this magazine
will ever turn profit.

You need to respond
to her in public.

No, I won't respond.

I... I refuse to feed the idea
that women can't get along.

Sometimes we don't get along.
We argue. We fight.

And that reminds me, I came here
to tell you in person

you have been elected
in absentia to represent

the National Women's
Political Caucus

- at the Democratic Convention.
- No. No, no, no.

Betty was actually the ad
campaign that'd be elected

- and she lost.
- I don't want

that job, Bella.

That's... that's why I didn't go.

That is exactly why
you should have that job.

And exactly how does
that make sense?

A reluctant spokeswoman is more
likely to represent the group.

I have no desire to make
an enemy out of Betty Friedan.

Too late.

If you avoid conflict,
my darling,

conflict will seek you out.

One may be amused this year...

the Democratic National
Convention here in Miami,

by the high-octave span
of women's voices

gathered together
at the derelict

Betsy Ross Hotel,

headquarters
of the recently formed

National Women's
Political Caucus.

One might be amused

by the rooms with unmade beds,

yogurt cartons, chests covered
with blue jeans and bras,

but only briefly.

Betsy Ross Hotel is a power set.

More than a third
of the delegates

this year are women.

There's a strong women's plank
in the platform.

Four years ago, there was none.

Can they do it or will they be
torn apart by internal strife?

What a day.

Can you put the rest
of these in the packet?

There should be four pages each.

What the hell
did Betty do today?

Well, threatened to call
a press conference

and expose the caucus.

Same as she does every day.

You know why Betty
doesn't yell at me?

- Why?
- Because I yell back louder!

Oh, eat your beer nuts.

Look, we didn't get
all our planks,

but we will in Houston.

You're working from within
the movement now.

Change comes from within.

They want you
for the cover of Newsweek.

I won't do a cover photograph.

Yeah. A movement is lots
and lots of people moving.

Not one person
being photographed.

Not one white woman. Not me.

There would be a movement
without me.

They won't do the story
unless you pose for the cover.

I won't do it.

If they want us
to become the radicals,

that they fear we are,
then let them stop the ERA

and we will become
those radicals.

This is no simple reform.
It really is a revolution.

Introducing my lovely
young assistant, Gloria.

Hold still.

Come on, Gloria.

This isn't the first time you've
had knives thrown at you, is it?

Yeah. It was one thing to have
a magician in east 'Ledo

throw knives at you
when you're being paid for it.

You know, and anyway those
knives were dull.

And it's... it's another thing
to have this...

Oh, let me see that thing.

Wait, my glasses.

Oh, I don't really need

my glasses.

Pin the cock on the feminist.

Ah. Let them be idiots.

You know, the purpose
of an ass kicking isn't that

you get your ass kicked
at the right time

or for the right reason,
it's to keep your ass sensitive.

It's in full, you know,
detail and it has my hair,

- and my glasses.
- Yeah. And my labia.

Yeah.

Two, four, six, eight,
ratify in every state...

The women
here represent the thousands

who formed the long line
of runners from Seneca Falls

officially opening the first

government sponsored convention
on women's rights.

Gloria Steinem, now

that the conference
is about to begin,

- how do you feel?
- Well, I can't tell you

how thrilling it is to finally
see this miracle happen.

I mean, I've never seen...

None of us have ever seen
women pull off

such a massive
nationwide two-year process

culminating in what is probably
the most racially,

economically, and geographically
representative body

that this nation has ever seen.

So, the bar is very high.
We have a lot to accomplish.

Oh, my knees.

Bella, how the hell are we gonna

get 2,000 delegates to agree...

on 26 multi issue planks
in three days?

By arguing, and voting,
by not shutting up.

It's called democracy.

Oh, the Girl Scouts.
God, I love a pageant.

Stop the bus.

This is going to be a disaster.
Stop the bus

- now!
- Now ERA! Now ERA now!

Women are human.
We are united on that.

No one person and no subgroup
at this conference

has the right answer.

Wonder Woman
is not a delegate here.

We will not be brainwashed

by those who predict chaos
and failure for us.

Tell them they lie and move on.

The cause...

the cause of equal
and human rights...

will reap what is sown.

November 18 through November 21,

1977.

What will you reap?

What will you sow?

This gavel was used by
Susan B. Anthony in 1896.

Bella Abzug,
may you preside with the truth

of what this gavel means
to American women

who are again on the move.

The women's movement...

has become an indestructible
part of American life.

It is the homemaker
deciding that raising children,

cooking, and cleaning,
and all the other things

she does for her family, should
be accorded value and respect.

It is the young woman student

deciding that she wants
to play baseball,

carry a torch, major in physics,
or become a brain surgeon.

It is the working woman...

demanding equal pay.

It is the divorced woman,

fighting for social security
benefits in her own right.

It is the mother organizing
a daycare center.

It is the battered wife
seeking help.

It is the woman running
for public office.

It is the woman on welfare

looking for a decent part
of American life.

Let this conference
be the beginning

of making our democracy

what it should have been
200 years ago!

Seven miles south

from the National
Women's Conference in Houston,

a protest, spearheaded
by Phyllis Schlafly,

calls itself
the pro-family rally

opposed
to the Equal Rights Amendment.

I'm very proud
that they excluded me

from that convention

and I'm here where we're
not ashamed and not afraid

to ask God's blessing on this
crowd assembled here today.

- Oh, my God. That's Dolores.
- Huerta, Right.

She said she'd be coming
to Houston with the contention

of female farm workers,
to protest abortion.

- I watched...
- Yeah, well, she has

- a lot of kids.
- Ten.

Of young people

and the greatest tragedy of all

was to see three former
first ladies of this nation,

excuse me,
two former first ladies

and the current wife

of the president
of the United States

standing by their very presence

alongside of Abzug
approving of sexual perversion

and the murder of young people
in their mother's womb.

What a disgrace!

Excuse me.
Can we turn this shit off?

It's different
than all of them, you know.

Excuse me. I'm...
I'm sorry to bother you.

Did you not get
a room assignment?

No. But this is fine.

Well, is there anything
you need?

We could use someone
to take notes actually.

Well, that's why I'm here.

Thank you.

- Wilma Mankiller.
- Gloria Steinem.

We need to make it clear that
while other women here gathered

are fighting for equality
inside the mainstream,

we native women are fighting
for tribal sovereignty.

We're fighting for our entire
culture outside the mainstream.

So, chime in.

Let's draw up a list
of our most critical issues.

What about the loss
of our tribal languages?

We're not even allowed
to teach it in our schools.

Our language is the very heart
of who we are as a people.

And if that disappears,
that's it. It's gone forever.

- Gloria.
- Dolores?

They told me I'd find you

in one of these hallways
running ragged.

I thought you're across town,
are you okay?

Do you have a minute?
I'm just...

Yes. Yeah. Of course.

One of these rooms
has gotta be empty.

All right.

We've got to have some
very specific resolutions

for Asian-American women
on sweatshops...

Oh, Gloria.
We could use a writer.

I'll be back in a minute. Sorry.

I promise to be a scribe
for the minority caucuses.

- I should go now.
- No, no, no, no. Come here.

Excuse me.

You know, I'm a devout Catholic.

You know, along with Cesar,

I've been anti-abortion
my entire life.

I'm here with
my fellow farm workers

to demonstrate in support
of the Right to Lifers, but...

I looked at the faces
in that angry crowd...

and I saw some
of the same people

who fight our unions,
and hate our cause,

extreme right-wingers,
even the clan and...

I had to get out.

Hmm. Dolores, you know...

no one in their...
In their right mind

is... is pro-abortion.

Nobody gets up in the morning
and says,

"Great. I'm gonna have
a procedure today." It's...

it is the method
of the last resort.

But reproductive freedom and...
And the right to choose

belongs to the woman, right?

I mean, that's...

that's what being pro-choice
is... is all about.

I have ten kids.

And I love each and every one
of them dearly, but...

but it's been hard.

We don't wanna go
against the church...

but we have to think
of ourselves first.

All these people who have
an issue

with having an abortion, well,

what are they doing
for the children

once they are born?

Even the church.

What's the church doing
to help us raise our children?

Are they providing
infant centers?

Are they providing resources
for our teenagers...

Dolores, come with me tomorrow.

It's the last day
of the conference

and... and I want you there.

The president and congress...

should provide
for full quality education.

And for the full implementation
and enforcement

of all affirmative

action programs...

Deportation of mothers
of American born children

must be stopped,

and legislation enacted
for parents

to remain with their children.

Would all those in favor

of the sexual preference
resolution, please rise.

Be seated. Please stay in order.

All those opposed to
this resolution, please rise.

The resolution has clearly
carried and is adopted.

The federal government should
guarantee tribal rights...

Asian-Pacific American women
are wrongly thought to be...

The current system of insurance

is one where women pay more
and get less.

Of covering homemakers
and their own rights...

We would like to substitute that
as follows, Madam Chairperson...

And your time
has expired. Sit down.

I move the adoption
of the following resolution.

The Equal Rights Amendment
should be ratified.

All those in favor,
will you please rise?

The resolution has passed.

Gloria.

Thank you for standing
beside us.

You wear this and remember
we're also standing beside you.

Thank you.

And you can wear this...

when we get you out there
dancing at our powwows.

And we will.

So did it pass?

- What?
- The ERA.

Of course.
They voted, didn't they?

I mean, more people stood up
for it than against it.

Yeah. But did it pass?

I don't think so.

Yeah. Let's proceed.

It's going to be
an uphill battle.

There's never been an elected
female Cherokee chief before.

There will be now.

Campaign's been tough.

We've had our car torched,
death threats.

Wilma just pushes on.
Nothing stops her.

No fear.

Well, she's lucky
to have you beside her.

Hello.

Good to see you.

No, I'm the lucky one.

How are you?
Thank you.

So, how did you two
get together?

When I met Wilma ten years ago,
she was definitely on her own.

Well, after working together
for a couple of years

on a water project,

I started to say, "You know,

I can tell there's electricity
going on between us."

And so I asked her. I said,

"Uh. Wilma, you want to go
see a movie?

You want to go see Rambo?"

She said "Rambo?
I hate Rambo."

I thought, "Oops."

And so I drove to Tulsa

and pulled in
at a Coney Island hot dog place.

She said,
"What are we doing here?"

I said, "We're here to eat."

She said, "Here?"
I said, "Yeah."

She said, "I hate hot dogs."

I said, "Oh, my God."

I struck out here.
I mean I love those hot dogs.

Dang.

We live in a country
where our contributions

to democracy
have been overlooked.

- Mm-hmm.
- Mm-hmm.

Benjamin Franklin acknowledged
the Iroquois Confederacy

was the model for
the Constitutional Convention.

In fact, he invited
two Iroquois men

to Philadelphia as advisers.

Their first question...

"Where are the women?"

Now, we Cherokee,
we consult our women elders

on every important decision,
but we've never had a woman

as a democratically
elected chief.

Let's change that this year.

Vote Mankiller.

How'd you get the name
Mankiller?

I earned it.

You earned it.

Okay.

It's an inherited title
that means

- protector of the village.
- Oh.

Used to be Whiteman Killer.

Hmm. You know...

I read that the Cherokee nation

was once matrilineal,
is that true?

Yes. Once.

And the sun is female
and the moon is male.

What?

See, the sun is always there.

The moon comes and goes.

This is an extraordinary place.

Your home, you know,
with all its family and friends.

I've been here most of my life.

Do you ever go home, Gloria?

Oh, you mean my apartment
in New York?

I think the... the longest
I've been there

in the last year
has been eight days.

The ballots are in.

- Oh.
- Chief?

Yes.

We did it. We did it.

Go home murderer.

Go home!

In the name of Jesus!

We must protect
the sacred life of the unborn.

Murderers!

Baby killer,
that's what you are!

Today, I've invited
a very special guest

to give our homily.

Glory be to God.

For Gloria.

You may be surprised
to see me here.

I... I'm surprised, too.

Original culture saw
the presence of God

in all living things...

including women.

Only in the last 500
to 5,000 years,

depending on where you lived,

has godliness been withdrawn
from nature,

from females and from
particular races of men, right?

Though patriarchal culture
made hierarchy seem inevitable.

For 95 percent of history,

humans have been
more likely to see

the circle as our natural
paradigm.

And millions still do
from Native Americans here

to original cultures
around the world.

When God is depicted
only as a white man...

and Jesus has blonde hair
and blue eyes

in the middle
of the Middle East,

I never understood that.

Then only white men seem godly.

Priests dressed in skirts

try to trump
women's birth giving power

by baptizing
with imitation birth fluid

and calling us reborn.

And then going women one better
by promising everlasting life.

In reality, elaborate concepts
of heaven and hell

didn't exist before patriarchy.
You just joined your ancestors

or kept being reincarnated
till you learned enough.

The simple right
to reproductive freedom,

to sexuality as an expression

that is separable
to reproduction

is basic to restoring
the balance

between women and men.

A balance between humans
and nature.

Hi, Gloria.
I'm so excited

to finally get to talk to you.

- Oh, well...
- And I'll say it real quick.

First of all, I really believe

that your movement
was a total failure

and I believe you could admit
that wholeheartedly.

You are one
of the primary causes

of the downfall of our beautiful

American family
and society today.

A couple questions. I'd like
to know if you're married.

- No.
- If you have children.

- No.
- No, you don't.

Well, let me tell you.

- You can't get...
- Is that... Is that bad?

Advertisers because
your magazine blanks.

So, you better go out
and get a job

and don't ever
have children, lady.

Gloria Steinem
should rot in hell.

Do you regret it?

Not having kids?

People always ask me that
and I always feel the pressure

to say yes, but I...

I don't, and I... I never did.

I always assumed I'd have them.

Well, not everyone
with vocal chords

is an opera singer,
not every woman

with a womb is a mother.

You'd make a terrible opera
singer.

But a great tap dancer.

Are we there yet?

Gloria, what would you say
to women of color

who don't feel the feminist
movement includes them

or is about them?

Well, I wouldn't say anything.
I would... I would just listen.

The biggest
indicator of whether

a country is violent
within itself

is not... Is not poverty, is not
lack of natural resources,

is not religion
or even degree of democracy.

It's the degree of violence
against females.

Okay. Here's my best thing
about instinct.

If it walks like a duck
and it looks like a duck,

and quacks like a duck

and you think it's a pig,
it's a pig.

The truth will set you free,
but first it will piss you off.

I sometimes wonder
if we are crisscrossing

Leo's ghostly past.

Entering the same towns,
roadside diners.

We're so different...

And yet so much the same.

It's me.

Um. Oh. No. No, I...

I... I had no idea.

I just... I needed
to hear your voice.

No. Um, everything's fine.

I just... I just got back
early and I...

And I thought
that if you were free...

tomorrow then...
That maybe we could...

Oh. Oh.

No. I... I forgot. I, um...

No.

Absolutely. I...

Yeah. Um. And I'll...
And I'll see you on Saturday.

All right?

All right. Just go back
to sleep.

Good night.

Hey.

Welcome to the post 50 free
from feminine bullshit age.

Free at last, sweet Jesus.
Free at last.

Did we raise any money?
This must have cost a fortune.

Gloria, it's your birthday.

Enjoy it. Everyone here

- is celebrating.
- No, I'm...

I'm worried
about the foundation.

Okay. Yes. The benefit tickets

raised quite a bit
earmarked for Ms.

Gloria, eat your cake.

Or dance with Stan.
Look, here he comes.

- Hello.
- Hi.

How are you?

- Happy birthday, Gloria.
- Thank you.

So, you are still not married.

Well, um, I've always said that
I... I can't mate in captivity.

When I grow up,
I'm going to go to Hollywood...

and then I'm going to get
married,

and settle down...

and have three kids.

Then a boxer.

Oh, no. No, no. no.
A... A Golden Retriever.

And a house with a huge yard,
and a swimming pool,

and a basket for basketball
in the driveway.

And a game room in the basement
with a record player,

and a ping-pong table, and...

and a dance floor.

That's important, you know.

- And a car.
- Of course.

A Ford woody station wagon,
my own.

And my husband,
he can have his own car, too.

A Cadillac. Convertible.

No. Well, that...
Maybe that will be my car.

And what about love?
Will you be in love?

Well, yes. Of course.

Forever and ever after.

Why aren't you married?

My relationships were measurable
in... in years, not days.

I mean, remember, I grew up
in the 1950s, not even the '60s,

so I would defend the right for
any woman to have sex with a man

whose name she doesn't know.

But my own life
has been about little marriages.

Do you need a man in your life
to be happy?

Are you talking about sex?
Or what are you talking about?

Yes. Sex.

Well, no. Not now actually.

But in 20 minutes, that may
change. Who knows? I mean...

Let's keep the cameras rolling.

I just wish Gloria

would find a good chap
and relax.

Gloria comes on
with that flat Ohio accent...

goes on and on
about women's oppression.

You feel like either kissing
her or hitting her.

I can't decide which.

Make sure
you have the right temperature.

Because
that slut from the east village

doesn't come in here.

The airport, please.

On Glen's lap.

Hey, speaking
of the shootings in Whittleton,

did those kids try and have sex

with any of those
good-looking girls first?

- Hmm.
- At least if you're gonna kill

yourself and kill
all the kids...

- Can you please turn that off?
- Why didn't you have some sex?

He got pretty far away...

Dirty lazy people.

Please.

Stop yelling.

I crash you.

- You know...
- I crash you.

You know, some people
in this country

think bad things
about immigrants

- from Russia and they're wrong.
- Are you crazy?

I'm from Ukraine, not Russia.

Ukraine is good place.
Everybody wait.

- No dirty people...
- If there are no people of color

in Ukraine then why are you

making assumptions
about anything?

You know nothing.
Black peoples ruin this country.

- Fucking bitch!
- You know what?

That's it. Pull over. I've had
it with your racist bullshit.

The reason this country is great
is that all of these people,

black, brown, white,
all of these beautiful people

are on the streets
in New York together.

And if you don't like
living in New York

then you can just move
to fucking Norway!

A dear friend of mine.

We met almost 40 years ago
right here in Deli.

A place where she began her
journey as an activist.

The greatest listener
on this planet.

She has lovingly been called
a celestial bartender.

Today, we are honored to be able
to listen to Gloria herself

read from her new book.

"Men embody adventure.

Women embody hearth and home

and that has been
pretty much it.

Even as a child, I noticed that
Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz

spent her entire time trying
to get back home to Kansas.

Um. Alice in Wonderland
dreamed her long adventure

and woke up just in time
for tea.

But... whether by dowry murders
in India,

honor killings in Egypt,

or domestic violence
in the United States,

statistically speaking, home is
an even more dangerous place

for women than the road.

Taking to the road,

by which I mean letting the road
take you,

changed who I thought I was.

The road is messy in the way
that real life is messy.

It leads us out of denial
and into reality.

Out of theory and into practice.

Out of caution and into action.

Out of statistics and into
stories.

In short, out of our heads
and into our hearts."

Now...

be partners forever.

That's the way it'll be.

So what happened to you,
Miss Feminist,

who used to say marriage
turns women into half people?

You were fucking 66 years old.

A wedding? I'm utterly shocked.

But partners... I like that.

What can I say?
We loved each other.

And, uh, we're both in our 60's

and hardly needed
to be officially married.

But David needed a green card.

And, uh, who could turn down
a full Cherokee wedding?

Attagirl.

And besides, we... we changed
the marriage law,

so I no longer
had to change my name,

my legal residence,
my credit rating, right?

Always the romantic.

Hi.

How are you?

Well, you know
what I always say.

Every day is a good day.

I just spoke to your doctor

and we can park an ambulance
in the yard, just...

No. No.

I wanna die on my own land.

Gloria, you are an organizer
to the end.

Thank you, Billy.

Are you thinking of David?

No. No, I wasn't. I...

I am...

always remembering
our wedding here.

We had one glorious year
together then he got ill.

Oh, and I just
can't get over it.

Well, you never should.

When I see him
on the other side,

I'll give him a giant bear hug
and tell him.

What can I do for you?

For once there's nothing to do.

Get used to it.

Actually...

there is one thing.

That brace...

I've had on all these years...

when I die...

I want Charlie...

to take it out back...

and shoot it.

Can you make sure
he does that for me?

Of course I can.

I will see you on the other side
of the mountain.

See you on the other side
of the mountain.

On election night,

I was sitting with a group of
female ambassadors to the UN.

Women from different continents

who are watching
the results in New York.

I could see from the faces
around me

that her defeat was devastating,

not just in this country,
but worldwide.

Yet I know that in the future,

Hillary's loss will be part
of our victories.

Because the path up
is always a jagged line.

Not a straight one.

Our victory is not a one
person marathon,

but a relay race.

When the first
of many diverse women

wins this highest
of all democratic offices,

she'll be climbing steps
that were carved out

by a woman before her.

I feel like
we're going in circles.

Haven't we passed that sign
ten times?

A gazillion times.

This is what democracy
looks like.

Tell me
what democracy looks like.

This is what democracy
looks like.

I and my beloved co-chairs,
the golden oldies, right?

Harry Belafonte,

Dolores Huerta.

We may be the oldest marchers
here today,

so I've been thinking about
the uses of a long life.

And one of them is that you
remember when things were worse.

Thank you for understanding

that sometimes we must put our
bodies where our beliefs are.

Sometimes pressing send
is not enough.

We are here

and around the world
for a deep democracy...

that says
we will not be quiet...

we will not be controlled...

we will work for a world

in which all countries
are connected.

God may be in the details

but the goddess
is in connections.

We are linked.
We are not ranked.

We are the people. We have
people power and we will use it.

This is the upside
of the downside.

This is an outpouring of energy
and true democracy

like I have never seen
in my very long life.

It is wide in age,
it is deep in diversity,

and remember, the constitution

does not begin with
"I the president,"

It begins with,

- "We the people."
- We the people!