If Nobody’s Pissed Off, Try Harder

What is second-wave feminism? It depends on who you ask, but for most American women in the 60s and 70s, it meant the ideas circling around the to-this-day-unratified Equal Rights Amendment.

Yesterday we lost the great journalist, activist, and second-wave feminist leader Gloria Steinem.

Steinem wasn’t the first person with these ideas of equality, but she will be remembered for making them mainstream (if you can believe it, they were seen as quite fringe at the time). They went beyond commonly held ideas and metamorphosed into ideas one was expected to hold in culturally elite circles.

She got her first big taste of notoriety in 1963, when she published “A Bunny’s Tale” in Show magazine, detailing her exploits going undercover as a “bunny” in Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Mansion. 

Then in 1972, she co-founded Ms. Magazine, which became the most powerful feminist voice in the publishing industry. It immediately made her a household name, especially among informed women. 

We’re not here to discuss the ideological nuances of feminism, nor whether or not we concur with her political worldview.

What’s interesting to us is not just what she achieved, which was considerable and inspired millions, but how she achieved it: By being one hell of a fighter.

Our favorite quote of hers said it best: “The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off.”

She believed in the rightness of her cause, but was not so naive as to expect instant acceptance. She expected resistance, and was up for the struggle. Because of her glorious stubbornness, her opponents either eventually gave up or changed their minds.

There’s a lesson in there for anyone trying to change the world.

Leaders love talking about transformation. New strategies. New campaigns. New goals. 

Until people push back.

Suddenly the bold idea gets softened. The language that made people uncomfortable gets workshopped into oblivion. The sharp edges disappear. What started as transformation becomes something everybody can comfortably agree with.

But if everyone immediately agrees with your revolutionary idea, there’s a decent chance it isn’t particularly revolutionary.

Maybe that’s the real leadership lesson behind her famous line: If the truth is going to set people free, somebody has to have the stomach to piss them off first.

Gloria, we salute you for your gumption and courage. The world needed you. It’s grateful you were part of it, and it bids you a beautiful adieu.