Gloria Steinem, the renowned American writer, lecturer, and activist who dedicated more than fifty years to advancing gender equality and women’s civil and reproductive rights, has passed away at the age of 92. Her foundation confirmed her death on Thursday, noting she died the previous day.
Steinem was a co-founder and consulting editor of Ms. Magazine, a publication that played a pivotal role in the feminist movement starting in the late 1960s. She inspired countless women through her activism and writings. In a 2017 interview, film and theater director Julie Taymor described Steinem as a transformative American leader whose journey from reluctant spokesperson to beacon of change resonated widely. Taymor also directed the 2020 film “The Glorias,” which portrayed Steinem’s life and was based on her 2015 bestselling autobiography, “My Life on the Road.” Steinem was further honored through the 2018 play “Gloria: A Life” and the 2011 HBO documentary “Gloria: In Her Own Words.”
Steinem regarded herself as “an entrepreneur of social change,” emphasizing the importance of listening to women’s stories to empower them. She expressed this philosophy in a 2015 New Yorker interview, highlighting the need to connect and do justice to the women she encountered.
In 1971, she co-founded the National Women’s Political Caucus alongside former U.S. Representatives Bella Abzug and Shirley Chisholm, and writer Betty Friedan, whose 1963 book “The Feminine Mystique” helped ignite the second wave of feminism. Steinem also established several other organizations, including the Coalition of Labor Union Women, the Women’s Media Center, Voters for Choice, and the Ms. Foundation for Women.
Her contributions were recognized in 2013 when then-President Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States. Steinem’s iconic look—long, blonde-streaked hair parted in the center and aviator glasses—became synonymous with the feminist movement, which she insisted should be inclusive of women from all racial backgrounds. She credited Black women with largely shaping her understanding of feminism, stating, “Women of color basically invented feminism.”
Born on March 25, 1934, in Toledo, Ohio, Steinem was the younger of two daughters. Her father was a traveling antique dealer, and frequent family moves disrupted her schooling until about seventh grade. After her parents separated when she was 11, she took on the responsibility of caring for her mother, who suffered from depression and a mental breakdown. This experience deeply influenced Steinem’s views on social injustice and marriage, which she believed often deprived women of their rights and choices.
Following her graduation from Smith College, Steinem began freelancing as a journalist. In 1963, she worked undercover as a Playboy bunny for 11 days to write an exposé for Show magazine titled “A Bunny’s Tale,” which revealed the poor pay and sexist treatment endured by Playboy bunnies. This groundbreaking story was later adapted into a 1985 television movie starring Kirstie Alley.
Steinem helped launch New York magazine in 1968, where her essay “After Black Power, Women’s Liberation” established her as a leading feminist voice amid a period of intense social change. However, it was attending an abortion speak-out in a New York church in 1969 that she considered the true beginning of her feminist activism. Having had an illegal abortion in London at age 22, Steinem was deeply committed to reproductive rights.
Ms. Magazine, which she co-founded in 1971, boldly addressed issues such as abortion, sexism, equal pay, and domestic violence, diverging sharply from the traditional women’s magazines focused on beauty and homemaking. An early issue famously listed the names of 52 women, including Steinem herself, who had undergone abortions, advocating for legalization well before the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that recognized abortion as a constitutional right in the U.S.
Steinem was often outspoken about the constraints of marriage, asserting, “Women are not going to be equal outside the home until men are equal in it.” She had no children and did not marry until the age of 66, when she wed South African businessman and environmentalist David Bale, father of actor Christian Bale. She described their marriage as a testament to feminism’s core principle—the freedom to choose what is right at different stages of life. David Bale passed away from brain cancer in 2003.
Steinem remained active well into her 80s, authoring numerous books including “Marilyn: Norma Jean” (1986), a biography of Marilyn Monroe, and “Revolution from Within: A Book of Self-Esteem,” which focused on personal development. She also produced and narrated impactful documentaries, such as the Emmy-winning HBO film “Multiple Personalities: The Search for Deadly Memories” (1993), and produced the Lifetime movie “Better Off Dead.” Additionally, she hosted “Woman,” a documentary series on violence against women for the Viceland TV channel.
Author Carolyn Heilbrun, who wrote Steinem’s 1995 biography “Education of a Woman: The Life of Gloria Steinem,” described her as “the epitome of female beauty and the quintessence of female revolution.” Gloria Steinem’s legacy as a trailblazer for women’s rights and social justice remains enduring and influential.
