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Gloria Steinem: For Women, the Golden Rule Needs to Be Reversed

Aired on 01/19/1993 | CC tv-pg
Chances are you've been told you should live by the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Feminist pioneer Gloria Steinem is of the opinion that women may need to reverse this biblical principle.

"The Golden Rule was written by men, and men need to learn to treat other people as well as they treat themselves, but we need to learn to treat ourselves as well as we treat other people," Gloria said during a 1993 appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show to promote a book about self-esteem.

Gloria, however, wanted to make sure women didn't feel guilty for putting others above themselves. "We must understand that it's not our fault," Gloria said. "I'm always very worried about discussing these kinds of subjects because they're turned into, by kind of New Age literature sometimes, into ways of blaming the victim."

Here, in a lesson that is as relevant as ever, Gloria reveals how women can overcome the misapplication of this philosophy.

Original airdate: January 19, 1993