--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The problem is that America is still so…" description: "\"The problem is that America is still so racist - I guess it's hard to find another word for it ­ - that they still, the press in general and many peopl..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e33/gloria-steinem-277_america_the-problem-is-that-america-is-still-so_2618262.jpg" --- # The problem is that America is still so racist - I guess… ![“The problem is that America is still so racist - I guess it's hard to find another word for it ­ - that they still, the press in general and many people, perceive only white women as feminists. They think black women are black.” quote by Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e33/gloria-steinem-277_america_the-problem-is-that-america-is-still-so_2618262.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e33/gloria-steinem-277_america_the-problem-is-that-america-is-still-so_2618262.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e33/gloria-steinem-277_america_the-problem-is-that-america-is-still-so_2618262.jpg) > “The problem is that America is still so racist - I guess it's hard to find another word for it ­ - that they still, the press in general and many people, perceive only white women as feminists. They think black women are black.” [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote highlights how racism skews perceptions, limiting feminism to white women and ignoring black women’s experiences. **In simple terms:** Racism narrows feminist view to white women only. Key Takeaway Recognize and include all women in feminist discourse. Themes racism feminism intersectionality media perception identity inclusion Mood critical reflective determined Type social commentary activist observational When to use this quote - activism - media analysis - educational workshops - policy advocacy Key Concepts intersectional feminism media bias social perception Questions to Reflect On - How can we broaden feminist narratives to include all women? - What role does media play in shaping these perceptions? A Different Perspective The statement may overlook progress made and diverse feminist voices beyond race. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Black women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-women/) [Feminism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminism/) [Feminist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminist/) [Feminists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminists/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) [Racist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racist/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [Historians who write about families are usually feminists who think in terms of gender relations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-ridley/historians-who-write-about-families-are-usually-feminists-who-think/) [Jane Ridley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-ridley/) > [The media has bought into the whole social revolution, the Kinsey ideas, and has been completely taken over by the feminists. And the feminists,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-schlafly/the-media-has-bought-into-the-whole-social-revolution-the-kinsey/) [Phyllis Schlafly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-schlafly/) > [We feminists think that women deserve the right NOT to prostitute.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-farley/we-feminists-think-that-women-deserve-the-right-not-to-prostitute/) Melissa Farley > [ \[Feminists think difference in men and women\] is all social. It is all about social cliches and pressures, that if you just leave boys… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/feminists-think-difference-in-men-and-women-is-all-social-it-is-all/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [“For Black women as well as Black men, it is axiomatic that if we do not define ourselves for ourselves, we will be defined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/for-black-women-as-well-as-black-men-it-is-axiomatic-that-if-we-do/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [“Black Women and Black Girls are Exquisite Beauty in EVERY Shade.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-lahart/black-women-and-black-girls-are-exquisite-beauty-in-every-shade/) [Stephanie Lahart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-lahart/) > [No other group in America has so had their identity socialized out of existence as have black women... When black people are talked about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bell-hooks/no-other-group-in-america-has-so-had-their-identity-socialized-out-of/) [Bell Hooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bell-hooks/) > [Things are much more complicated. Feminism versus pornography, for example. There are a lot of feminists who think it is bad, but others think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/things-are-much-more-complicated-feminism-versus-pornography-for/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [From what I understand from talking with older friends and feminists, I think that once I enter the workforce and start to think about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-zeilinger/from-what-i-understand-from-talking-with-older-friends-and-feminists/) [Julie Zeilinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-zeilinger/) > [The thing about black women and black hair is that you just have to experiment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvonne-orji/the-thing-about-black-women-and-black-hair-is-that-you-just-have-to/) [Yvonne Orji](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvonne-orji/) > [How can we teach our children to respect Black women if Black women don't respect Black women?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-d-jakes/how-can-we-teach-our-children-to-respect-black-women-if-black-women/) [T. D. Jakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-d-jakes/) > [Black women are three times as likely to die giving birth or shortly after birth as white women. Black women in the United States…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-lowrey/black-women-are-three-times-as-likely-to-die-giving-birth-or-shortly/) [Annie Lowrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-lowrey/) > [“White women have a black belt in the fake smile.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaya-dlanga/white-women-have-a-black-belt-in-the-fake-smile/) Khaya Dlanga > [I do think with wrestling as a whole, one of the tough things, especially for women, more for the black community is that a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandi-rhodes/i-do-think-with-wrestling-as-a-whole-one-of-the-tough-things/) [Brandi Rhodes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandi-rhodes/) > [I think the number one thing Black women and all Black people should be paying attention to is our health.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bell-hooks/i-think-the-number-one-thing-black-women-and-all-black-people-should/) [Bell Hooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bell-hooks/) ## More by Gloria Steinem > [People waste more time waiting for someone to take charge of their lives than they do in any other pursuit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/people-waste-more-time-waiting-for-someone-to-take-charge-of-their/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Nothing will happen automatically. Change depends on what you and I do every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/nothing-will-happen-automatically-change-depends-on-what-you-and-i-do/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Women are never again going to be mindless coffee-makers or mindless policy-makers in politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/women-are-never-again-going-to-be-mindless-coffee-makers-or-mindless/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [The state of female artists is very good. But the very definition of art has been biased in that 'art' was what men did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/the-state-of-female-artists-is-very-good-but-the-very-definition-of/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [We will live to see the day that St. Patrick's Cathedral is a child-care center and the pope is no longer a disgrace to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/we-will-live-to-see-the-day-that-st-patrick-s-cathedral-is-a-child/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Just when you thought multi-nationals and crazed consumerism were too big to fight, along comes Naomi Klein with facts, spirit, and news of successful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/just-when-you-thought-multi-nationals-and-crazed-consumerism-were-too/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [I don't know Beyoncé, but I have the impression that she's sincere, that she really is a feminist and wanted to put the word…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-don-t-know-beyonc-but-i-have-the-impression-that-she-s-sincere-that/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [I started out life as a writer, and writers write in part because they don't want to talk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-started-out-life-as-a-writer-and-writers-write-in-part-because-they/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Proust's tea cake has nothing on one hour in a college dorm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/proust-s-tea-cake-has-nothing-on-one-hour-in-a-college-dorm/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Sadomasochiasm - which we know very well doesn't exist in societies that don't have child abuse - is regarded some sort of natural sexual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/sadomasochiasm-which-we-know-very-well-doesn-t-exist-in-societies/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Behave like everything you do matters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/behave-like-everything-you-do-matters/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [“Part of traveling over years means coming back to the same place and knowing it for the first time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/part-of-traveling-over-years-means-coming-back-to-the-same-place-and/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [If you say, I'm for equal pay, that's a reform. But if you say. I'm a feminist, that's a transformation of society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/if-you-say-i-m-for-equal-pay-that-s-a-reform-but-if-you-say-i-m-a/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [I think that part of everybody's success is due to their looks, but it just works in different ways. If you're whatever society calls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-think-that-part-of-everybody-s-success-is-due-to-their-looks-but-it/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Of course, we can change. We're very adaptable. But it takes a while.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/of-course-we-can-change-we-re-very-adaptable-but-it-takes-a-while/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) [Explore all 766 Gloria Steinem quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) ## More America quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I'm gonna bring America together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-m-gonna-bring-america-together/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [You live overseas, you see these exotic places and you want to know about them. But, weirdly, it also made me homesick for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-jennings/you-live-overseas-you-see-these-exotic-places-and-you-want-to-know/) [Ken Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-jennings/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [“In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/in-american-terms-the-accomplishment-of-genghis-khan-might-be/) [Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/) [Browse all 20,382 America quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The problem is that America is still so racist - I guess it's hard to find another word for it ­ - that they still, the press in general and many people, perceive only white women as feminists. They think black women are black.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gloria Steinem" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/the-problem-is-that-america-is-still-so-racist-i-guess-it-s-hard-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "America" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/the-problem-is-that-america-is-still-so-racist-i-guess-it-s-hard-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e33/gloria-steinem-277_america_the-problem-is-that-america-is-still-so_2618262.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e33/gloria-steinem-277_america_the-problem-is-that-america-is-still-so_2618262.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e33/gloria-steinem-277_america_the-problem-is-that-america-is-still-so_2618262.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The problem is that America is still so racist - I guess it's hard to find another word for it ­ - that they…” — Gloria Steinem", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Gloria Steinem", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The problem is that America is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/the-problem-is-that-america-is-still-so-racist-i-guess-it-s-hard-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/the-problem-is-that-america-is-still-so-racist-i-guess-it-s-hard-to/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```