Considering March is Women's History Month, what better time to celebrate two ladies who propel other females forward? I'd say that Gloria Steinem and Amy Schumer are both feminist icons in their own ways. Steinem founded Ms. magazine and championed women's rights for decades. Meanwhile, Schumer has helped set the tone for female comedians by fighting unrealistic beauty standards and talking about sex without any shame attached. Plus, she rewrote classic rom-com tropes in Trainwreck . When I saw that these two hung out over the weekend, I couldn't have been happier. On Saturday night, Schumer shared an Instagram featuring Steinem, Rachel Feinstein, and Kathy Najimy. She captioned the photo, "My only loved ones."
While in typical Schumer fashion, I think she's joking about them being her only loved ones, it's still a pretty great group. They're like the ultimate feminist squad goals. Before you go critiquing the phrase "squad," I don't mean that in an exclusionary way (a criticism that Taylor Swift and her pals have faced). Instead, I view it as a group of people coming together and being on each other's team. It's more about solidarity than exclusion.
I can only imagine the kinds of conversation that happened during their hangout. Considering she's occasionally received groans at her jokes, I bet Schumer gave Steinem pointers about bouncing back from criticism. The 81-year-old recently received backlash following cringe-worthy comments about young female voters following Bernie Sanders because "the boys are with Bernie." Although it's not the most tactful statement, everyone makes mistakes and it shouldn't outweigh her years of advocacy on women's behalf.
Focusing on the positives here, this isn't the first time these two joined forces. In fact, they've been fangirling (fan-womaning?) over each other for awhile now. Here's a round-up of all the times these two expressed their mutual admiration.
1. Steinem On Trainwreck's Power
When asked by TIME magazine about a women-directed or women-written movie that she loved in 2015, Steinem gushed over Trainwreck . She said,
I think it was the first time I’ve ever watched a very sexual, over-the-line movie and not felt endangered. I knew I was not going to be humiliated, eviscerated, because it was Amy Schumer’s movie. I don’t think I had ever been sure of that before in a very sexual movie.
That's a powerful, yet accurate review of the film. Schumer's character defies stereotypes and plays a role typically designated for men. In doing so, she proves women can carry a movie — and a sexual movie at that.
2. Steinem Considers Schumer's Talent A Gift
A month later, she spoke to People, and once again made her feelings about Schumer known. Steinem said,
Making people laugh is a powerful tool that women weren't supposed to have, so women in stand-up comedy and comedy of all kinds have had a tough time and she's really broken through in a big way.
She also gave Trainwreck a shoutout again, saying Schumer is "giving women [the] gift" of sitting in a theater and not being condemned for being too sexual or not sexual enough.
3. They Email Each Other
According to Variety, Schumer was asked about being a feminist at a press conference in Locarno. She casually name-dropped Steinem in her response. She said,
I’m proud to be a feminist. I think everybody in this room is proud to be a feminist. I’ve just got an email from Gloria Steinem. I still cannot believe I’m in a position to communicate with her.
Ugh, I wish I was CC-ed on that email chain.
4. Amy Presented At Steinem's 80th Birthday
In 2014, Schumer presented a monologue at the Gloria Awards, celebrating the feminist icon's 80th birthday. She gave an unforgettable speech about self-confidence.
The fact that she was there to honor the legendary feminist's big day proves that these two are close. She also posted this photo from the event, referring to Steinem as her "hero."
5. Steinem Gushed Over Amy (Again!)
Once again, Steinem proves her Schumer fandom. In the video above, she talks about Inside Amy Schumer and one of its most memorable sketches. She said,
The Last F*ckable Day skit was brilliant... They were celebrating the last f*ckable day, instead of crying over it. They were talking about the freedom that comes with it... And I think she often does that. She takes what is seen as a downside and makes it into an upside and says essentially, in a big celestial way, "F*ck you."
Sounds like these two may very well be each other's biggest fans — and I'm a fan of that. If Steinem can snag a cameo in the Comedy Central star's next movie, now that would be a feminist dream come true.
