The first problem for all of us, men and women, is not to learn, but to unlearn.

The quote argues that the main obstacle to growth is not a lack of information but the persistence of ingrained beliefs. “Unlearning” points to dismantling habits of thought—stereotypes, biases, and socially conditioned roles—that shape what people consider natural or inevitable. By addressing “men and women,” Steinem frames feminism not as a niche concern but as a human project: everyone is constrained by rigid gender scripts, even if in different ways. The statement also implies that education alone is insufficient; transformation requires critical self-examination and the willingness to revise one’s identity, relationships, and sense of possibility.