Gloria Steinem, one of the most recognized figures in American feminism and co-founder of Ms. Magazine, died Wednesday at her home in New York City. She was 92. The Gloria Steinem Foundation announced her death on social media, saying she "passed away peacefully at her home in New York City, surrounded by some of the many who loved her." No cause of death was given.
According to CBS News, Steinem co-founded Ms. Magazine with activist Dorothy Pittman Hughes. The publication's first full issue appeared on newsstands on July 1, 1972. It was the first major publication to be owned, run, and written by women, and served as a platform for issues including media representation, equal rights, and social justice affecting women and girls.
Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke about Steinem on CBS Mornings on Thursday. "She was one of the architects of the entire structure of women's equality, I mean tearing down those obstacles to young women being able to participate where their talents and hard work took them," Clinton said. Clinton also said, "Gloria was at heart an optimist. Her activism was rooted in optimism, and that's a moral choice, and she made it every day."
The Gloria Steinem Foundation described her gift in its posts. "Gloria's greatest gift was her ability to listen to others, to make others feel seen and heard," the posts said. "Her words, actions, and example gave people permission to be their truest selves. Gloria lived true to her independent spirit, always with curiosity and a great sense of humour."
Steinem began her career as a journalist. In 1963 she reported undercover on conditions inside Hugh Hefner's Playboy empire, an assignment she later said she came to regret. A turning point came in 1969 when she attended a meeting where women spoke out in favor of abortion rights. "That speak-out was the beginning of activism for me," Steinem told the Associated Press in an email in 2022, reflecting on the reversal of Roe v. Wade. "Either our control over our own bodies is equal, regardless of sex or race, or we're not living in a democracy."
Steinem had undergone a secret illegal abortion herself at age 22. She told CBS News in a 2006 interview about attending a gathering in the late 1960s where women spoke openly about their own experiences with illegal abortion. "I heard women standing up and saying in public and taking seriously something that only affected women. Up until then, I'd never heard that. If it didn't also affect men, it couldn't be 'serious.' Something that was illegal, shameful, theoretically. (Women who had abortions) had to enter a criminal underground. And suddenly I thought, 'Wait a minute: You know, if one and three or four of us, and I too, had had that experience, why is it illegal?' And that was the beginning of the unraveling."
As a journalist, Steinem challenged the idea that women's voices did not belong in discussions of politics or war. She was an advocate for voting rights and promoted female candidates for office. She also championed reproductive freedom and safety from domestic violence. One of her initiatives, Take Our Daughters to Work Day, started by the Ms. Foundation for Women, grew into a global program encompassing millions of daughters and sons.
Steinem remained active well into her later years. According to Al Jazeera, she was travelling the globe and speaking on issues important to her well into her 80s. These included genital mutilation, Korean reconciliation, and above all, equality for women. In recent years she had also been hosting talking circles for hundreds of people in her home. "You can't do it on the phone or on the web," she told the Associated Press in a 2015 interview. "You have to be there with all five senses. It should be obvious that people can't empathise with each other unless we're in the same room."
Newsweek magazine had heralded her in 1971 as "The New Woman." She had been a co-founder of the National Women's Political Caucus and was a visible presence at rallies and marches across the country for decades. The foundation said she had enjoyed writing and spending time in her community in recent years.
