Gloria Steinem, the writer, journalist and activist who became one of the most recognizable leaders of the American feminist movement, has died at age 92.
Steinem died Wednesday, according to her foundation, which announced her death Thursday. A cause of death was not immediately provided.
For more than five decades, Steinem advocated for gender equality, reproductive rights and expanded political and economic opportunities for women. She was a co-founder of Ms. Magazine and helped establish numerous organizations devoted to women’s rights and political participation.
Born March 25, 1934, in Toledo, Ohio, Steinem spent part of her childhood traveling with her family. After her parents separated when she was 11, she lived with and helped care for her mother, who struggled with mental health problems.
Steinem graduated from Smith College and began working as a freelance journalist. One of her first widely noticed assignments came in 1963, when she went undercover as a Playboy bunny for 11 days. Her resulting two-part article, “A Bunny’s Tale,” described low pay and sexist treatment experienced by women working at Playboy clubs.
She helped found New York magazine in 1968 and increasingly became involved in the women’s movement. Steinem later said attending an abortion speak-out in New York in 1969 was a turning point in her life as an activist.
In 1971, she co-founded the National Women’s Political Caucus with other prominent women’s rights advocates, including Bella Abzug, Shirley Chisholm and Betty Friedan.
That same year, Steinem helped launch Ms. Magazine, which became an influential voice of the women’s movement. The magazine addressed subjects including abortion, domestic violence, workplace discrimination and equal pay at a time when many publications marketed to women focused primarily on homemaking, fashion and beauty.
Steinem went on to help create organizations including the Ms. Foundation for Women, Women’s Media Center and Voters for Choice.
President Barack Obama awarded Steinem the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, in 2013.
She also wrote numerous books, including “Revolution from Within” and the 2015 memoir “My Life on the Road.” Her life was depicted in the 2020 film “The Glorias,” as well as a play and an HBO documentary.
Steinem married South African businessman and environmentalist David Bale, father of actor Christian Bale, in 2000, when she was 66. Bale died in 2003.
Steinem continued writing, speaking and advocating for women’s rights well into her 80s, leaving a legacy as one of the defining figures of the modern American women’s movement.
Source: Reuters