VENTURA : Crowd of 400 Turns Out to Hear Steinem

The only reason that Ventura attorney S. Blake Wade endured the hassle of waiting in a long line and standing in a hot crowded Ventura meeting hall Monday night was to hear feminist author Gloria Steinem.

Precisely what Steinem said was not the point, Wade said. “She’s always been our banner holder,” she said.

Following Steinem’s half-hour talk, Wade said she felt inspired not only by the speaker but by the crowd itself, which numbered 400 and ranged in age from 15 to 75. Nearly all were women.

Considering that Ventura County is usually relatively quiet, the size and diversity of the crowd “made me feel very proud,” Wade said.

In addition to the crowd that got into the meeting hall, another 100 people had to be turned away because of lack of space.

Sponsored by the Ventura Bookstore, Steinem’s visit to Ventura is part of her tour to promote her latest book, “Moving Beyond Words.”

But she said in an interview that she is relieved that bookstores generally do not require people to buy books to hear an author, because one of her main goals at such events is to bring together people of shared progressive and feminist beliefs.

“The comfort from an occasion like this is seeing you’re not the only one who cares about these issues,” she said.

Later, when the crowd greeted Steinem with an explosion of applause, she tried to turn the spotlight back on them.

“I know in our hearts we know we’re all applauding for each other,” she said. “We come together so we get a fix of energy.”

By being in a room with hundreds of other like-minded people, she said, “we understand that we’re not crazy. The system is crazy.”

Steinem discussed a range of topics, including how women must continue to demand more help from men in raising children and running a home. “Until men are equal in the home, women can’t be equal outside the home.”

Having recently turned 60, Steinem also touched on one of the major themes of her new book: the unexpected joys of getting older. “Now, at 60, I feel like I’m entering a new country and it’s a country nobody told me about,” she said.

And for many members of her audience, Steinem is still charting the way.

“I just identify with her,” said Evelyn Leichliter, who was born the same week as Steinem. “While I was busy raising children, she was changing the world.”