Gloria Steinem, the pioneering feminist journalist and activist who helped bring women’s rights into mainstream public debate, has died at 92.
Steinem’s foundation said she continued working for equality until the end of her life. The statement highlighted her ability to listen to others and make people feel recognized, describing that quality as one of her defining contributions.
Her public career combined journalism with organizing. In 1962, she received a major assignment from Esquire editor Clay Felker examining contraception and the pressures women faced when balancing professional ambitions with family expectations.
A year later, she spent 11 days working undercover as a Playboy Bunny at the New York Playboy Club. Her resulting two-part investigation documented the treatment of the club’s glamour models and became one of the defining early pieces of her journalism career.
Steinem’s involvement in the women’s movement deepened after she covered an abortion “speakout” in Greenwich Village.
She had previously undergone an abortion in London at age 22 and later described the protest as a turning point that led her toward active feminism.
In 1971, Steinem helped establish the National Women’s Political Caucus with Shirley Chisholm. The organization pushed for greater female representation in presidential politics.
She also co-founded Ms. magazine with Dorothy Pitman Hughes, creating a prominent platform for feminist writing and debate.
Steinem was born in Ohio in 1934 and graduated from Smith College in 1956. Before becoming one of America’s best known feminist figures, she spent two years in India working as a legal clerk connected to the country’s Supreme Court.
Her activism extended beyond reproductive rights. She campaigned against domestic violence and female genital mutilation and supported causes involving racial equality, LGBTQ rights and the anti apartheid movement.
She was arrested in Washington in 1984 during a protest outside the South African Embassy. Steinem remained politically active well beyond the 1970s.
She co-founded the Women’s Media Center in 2005 with Jane Fonda and Robin Morgan and later became a prominent critic of Donald Trump. In 2017, she served as an honorary co-chair of the Women’s March following Trump’s inauguration.
Steinem’s foundation said her life was devoted to equality and emphasized her influence through both her words and example.
