B-Sides: Gloria Steinem’s “The Beach Book”

“What a tan will do is make you look good, and that justifies anything,” writes Gloria Steinem, the most famous feminist of the 20th century, in her now-forgotten first book. The Beach Book appeared in 1963. That same year, Steinem went undercover in a bunny costume in order to expose the rampant sexism of the Playboy Club—another place where women “looking good” justified anything.