The world is mourning the loss of trailblazing feminist Gloria Steinem, who passed away on Wednesday, September 2 at the age of 92.
A cultural force who became the face of the women’s rights movement during the 1970s, Steinem is being remembered for her role in shaping society by fighting for sexual equality.
A Famous Stepston
GettySteinem didn’t get married until late in life, tying the knot with British actor, entrepreneur and environmental activist David Bale in 2000.
They remained wed until Bale’s death in 2003, brought about by lymphoma.
During that time, she was stepmother to Bale’s son, who’d followed his father’s footsteps to embark on a career in acting: Christian Bale.
Bale, of course, is known for his numerous big-screen roles, in films including “American Hustle,” “The Fighter,” and as Batman in Christopher Nolan‘s “Dark Knight” trilogy.
A Shock at First
For those in Steinem’s inner circle, her decision to get married came as a shock. After all, this is a woman who had long decried marriage as an outdated institution that stripped women of their human rights.
Not only were her friends surprised when she walked down the aisle, so too was her new husband’s son.
“It was news to me,” Christian Bale admitted in a 2018 interview with The Guardian, revealing not only was he not invited to the wedding, he didn’t even know it had taken place.
“I was in Germany,” he recalled. “I found out about it afterwards.”
In that interview, Bale insisted that he and Steinem were on the same page, philosophically.
“If we’re talking equality, absolutely,” he stated.
A Late-in-Life Romance
GettyAt the time that Steinem married the “America Psycho” star’s father, she was 66 years old, while her new husband was a relatively youthful 59.
As Bale told Interview, the romance with Steinem had taken his father by surprise.
“I don’t think my father thought that anything like this would happen to him at this point in his life,” he said.
Pointing out that his father had been without a partner since his parents’ divorce when he was a teenager, Bale observed that “I’ve been accustomed to my father always being alone.”
Her Views on Marriage Evolved
Around the time of her wedding, Steinem opened up about her decision to get married.
“Though I’ve worked many years to make marriage more equal, I never expected to take advantage of it myself,” she said in a press release, as reported by ABC News.
“I’m happy, surprised and one day will write about it, but for now, I hope this proves what feminists have always said — that feminism is about the ability to choose what’s right at each time of our lives.”
As ABC News reported, it was telling that when the two exchanged vows, the word “partner” had been substituted for both “husband” and “wife.”
Years later, in a 2019 interview with National Geographic, Steinem insisted that her views on marriage hadn’t softened.
“I didn’t change. Marriage changed,” she explained.
“We spent 30 years in the United States changing the marriage laws,” Steinem added. “If I had married when I was supposed to get married, I would have lost my name, my legal residence, my credit rating, many of my civil rights. That’s not true anymore. It’s possible to make an equal marriage.”
