Gloria Steinem, Pioneering Feminist and Journalist, Dies at 92

Gloria Steinem, the trailblazing journalist, author and activist who became one of the most influential voices of the modern women’s movement, has died. She was 92.

Steinem died Wednesday at her home in New York City after experiencing declining health, according to the Associated Press. Her death was announced Thursday through social media accounts associated with Steinem and her foundation.

For more than six decades, Steinem was a prominent advocate for gender equality, reproductive rights and women’s civil rights, becoming one of the most recognizable figures associated with the feminist movement in the United States.

From Journalism to a Movement

Before becoming internationally known for her activism, Steinem built her career as a journalist.

One of her earliest high-profile assignments came in 1963 when she went undercover as a Playboy Bunny for an investigative story examining the working conditions and treatment of women employed at New York’s Playboy Club. The experience resulted in her two-part exposé, “A Bunny’s Tale.”

Steinem later helped found New York magazine before becoming a co-founder of Ms. magazine in the early 1970s. The publication gave women a prominent national platform to discuss subjects including workplace discrimination, equal pay, domestic violence, reproductive rights and sexism at a time when many mainstream publications rarely approached those issues from women’s perspectives.

Her influence extended far beyond journalism. Steinem helped establish the National Women’s Political Caucus in 1971 alongside figures including Bella Abzug, Shirley Chisholm and Betty Friedan. She was also involved in creating organizations including the Women’s Media Center, Ms. Foundation for Women and Voters for Choice.

A Legacy Spanning Generations

Steinem continued writing, speaking and advocating for equality well into the later decades of her life.

Her work earned numerous honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which President Barack Obama awarded her in 2013.

Her life and influence also reached film, television and theater. The 2020 film The Glorias, directed by Julie Taymor, chronicled different stages of Steinem’s life, while the HBO documentary Gloria: In Her Own Words explored her career and activism.

Steinem had also recently completed another memoir that is expected to be published posthumously this fall. From journalism to activism, Steinem spent much of her life challenging expectations about what women could do, say and become. Her influence stretched across generations, and her death marks the loss of one of the defining voices of the American women’s movement.

Our thoughts are with her family and loved ones.