Gloria Steinem, feminist icon and Ms. Magazine trailblazer, dies at 92

Gloria Steinem, feminist icon and Ms. Magazine trailblazer, dies at 92.

Key points

• She went on to discovered the National Women's Political Caucus in July 1971 with Betty Friedan, Bella Abzug and Shirley Chisholm.
• Steinem was married in 2000 at age 66 to David Bale, father of actor Christian Bale; the marriage lasted three years before David Bale died.
• The Women's Media Center, which Steinem cofounded with Jane Fonda and Robin Morgan in 2005, mourned the pioneering feminist's loss in a heartbreaking tribute.
• Born in 1934 in Toledo, Ohio, Steinem rose from working-class roots to be one of the leaders of the women's rights movement in the late 1960s and '70s.
• She was awarded the 2013 Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama.

Gloria Steinem, feminist icon and Ms. Magazine trailblazer, dies at 92. Nicole Fallert USA TODAY. Feminist icon, co-founder of 'Ms. Magazine' Gloria Steinem dies.

Feminist icon Gloria Steinem "passed away peacefully at her home in New York City, " according to her official Instagram page. She was 92 years old.

Civil rights activist and award-winning journalist Gloria Steinem. This person blazed a trail in media with Ms. Magazine and became one of the faces of women's liberation, has died. She was 92.

Meanwhile, the iconic thought leader died Wednesday, Sept. 2, according to her official Instagram page.

Steinem passed away peacefully at her home in New York City, surrounded by some of the many who loved her, the post read. Gloria's near-century on earth were years well-lived, and she continued working for equality until the particularly end.

"Gloria's greatest gift was her ability to listen to others, to create others feel seen and heard. Her words, actions, and example offered residents permission to be their truest selves. Gloria lived true to her independent spirit, always with curiosity and a great sense of humor."

Born in 1934 in Toledo, Ohio, Steinem rose from working-class roots to be one of the leaders of the women's rights movement in the late 1960s and '70s. She was one of the founders of New York and Ms. Magazines and author of numerous books, including "My Life on the Road" and "The Truth Will Set You Free, But First It Will Piss You Off!"

Steinem additionally dedicated her life to the cause of equality and civil rights, cofounding the National Women's Political Caucus, the Ms. Foundation for Women, the Free to Be Foundation, and the Women's Media Center in the United States. In 1970, she testified before the Senate on behalf of the Equal Rights Amendment.

"It seems to me that much of the trouble in this country has to do with the 'masculine mystique'; with the myth that masculinity somehow depends on the subjugation of other people, " Steinem informed senators at the time. "It is a bipartisan problem; both our past and current presidents seem to be victims of this myth, and to behave accordingly."

Steinem received multiple awards over the course of her organizing and activism, including the Penney-Missouri Journalism Award, the Front Page and Clarion awards, the National Magazine Award, the Lifetime Achievement in Journalism Award from the Society of Professional Journalists, the Society of Writers Award from the United Nations, and the University of Missouri School of Journalism Award for Distinguished Service in Journalism. She was awarded the 2013 Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama.

She died at her home in New York City, where her iconic Upper East Side brownstone's living room was known as a gathering space for influencers, academics, politicians and thinkers to discuss social problems and culture. Childhood and early life.

Born March 25, 1934, in the Toledo, Ohio, suburbs, Steinem learned "politics are a part of daily life, " she shared in her memoir "My Life On The Road." Her father was a traveling salesman, and the family lived in a trailer home for her early years.

After her parents divorced in 1946, Steinem lived with her mother. This person battled mental illness. Caregiving for her mother was a transformative experience for Steinem. It she frequently referenced in her writing and advocacy work.

"There are many people in the world who grew up as children looking after their parents. And it caused us to grow up too early, but we've all had difficult times in our lives, " she remarked on the BBC Radio 4 podcast "Young Again" when she was 90.

She did reconcile with these struggles, though: She informed The Guardian in 2017 how indebted she feels to her parents: " my mother, a enormous debt for creating a loving childhood for me when she didn't have one. My father, for being OK with insecurity. As he always remarked, 'If I don't know what will happen tomorrow, it could be wonderful.'".

Steinem pursued her education and graduated magna cum laude from Smith College in Massachusetts in 1956 and earned a fellowship that offered her enough capital to live in India. From 1957 to 1959, she learned regarding nonviolent protest and grassroots activism, shaping a unique view of community-led social change.

"There was this particularly clear message. It I never forgot, which was – if you want residents to listen to you, you have to listen to them. If you want to have anything to offer regarding how residents live, you have to go to where they live, " Steinem noted in 2011 in a conversation with Asia Society president Vishakha N. Desai.

It was additionally during this time in her life that Steinem had an abortion, a fact she shared in her 2015 memoir "My Life On the Road, " which is dedicated to London physician Dr. John Sharpe. When it was still illegal, the doctor performed the abortion on then-22-year-old Steinem in 1957.

She recounts Sharpe informed her: "You must promise me two things. First, you will not tell anyone my name. Second, you will do what you want to do with your life."

Inside her memoir: Gloria Steinem's touching tribute to doctor who created her abortion feasible. From Playboy to Ms.

Once back in the United States, Steinem began freelance reporting in New York in 1960. While women widely read magazines in the 1950s and 1960s, most publications were male-run and relegated female reporters to topics like fashion and domestic living. Young reporters like Steinem were allowed to write stories only regarding women's topics, such as recipes and clothes; writing concerning problems that actually influenced women's lives was discouraged.

"When I suggested political stories to The New York Times Sunday Magazine, my editor just said something like, 'I don't think of you that way, '" Steinem remarked, according to a 2011 history of Ms. Published by New York magazine.

So she took matters into her own hands, gaining national attention for her 1963 article "I Was a Playboy Bunny, " in which she recounted posing as a waitress at Hugh Hefner's Playboy Club, changing her name and donning a costume to expose the work conditions and sexualization of women in the role.

For context, the Playboy story: Why Gloria Steinem had regrets regarding her bombshell Playboy bunny story.

That story followed her much of her career. In an interview in 2011, she informed ABC News: "It was a professional error of gigantic proportions as I was just beginning to be assigned serious pieces and suddenly I was a bunny. And now, it's followed me all these years and I am always confronted by a moral dilemma. Should I stop individuals who introduce me as an ex-bunny and say, but I was doing it as a journalist?"

But the impact of the story and what she learned marked a turn in the late 1960s to more political reporting; Steinem wrote a column, "The City Politic, " for New York magazine.

And she discovered feminism: She attended the session of the radical feminist group the Redstockings in March 1969 and was drawn to the stories and causes American women championed. She went on to discovered the National Women's Political Caucus in July 1971 with Betty Friedan, Bella Abzug and Shirley Chisholm.

She additionally was inspired to produce media that centered women's perspectives. That led to the ideation of Ms. Magazine. It first appeared as an insert in the December 1971 matter of New York magazine. The first stand-alone matter was published the next year. The magazine's 300, 000 "one-shot" test copies sold out nationwide in eight days, according to Ms. Website.

Ms. Was sold to the Feminist Majority Foundation in 2001, and Steinem remained on its advisory board and editorial masthead. Afterwards career and legacy.

Steinem was married in 2000 at age 66 to David Bale, father of actor Christian Bale; the marriage lasted three years before David Bale died. Steinem leaves behind no biological children.

For context, the latter part of her life and career was dedicated to political activism, writing and social justice, championing LGBTQ+ rights and the rights of women and girls worldwide. Since 2011, she co-convened the Frontline Women's Fund, an initiative of the Sisterhood Is Global Institute, alongside former U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay. That work aimed to growth funding and awareness and provide resources for women's causes, including ending sex trafficking and female genital mutilation.

Steinem continued to work as a writer, commentator and activist. She published her final book, "The Truth Will Set You Free, But First It Will Piss You Off!" in 2019. She spoke on gender equality worldwide and was portrayed in media, including HBO's documentary "Gloria: In Her Own Words" (2011), the television show "Mrs. America" (2020) and "The Education of a Woman, " a biography written by Carolyn Heilbrun.

As she grew older, Steinem spoke of her legacy and her wish to continue the fight for equal rights. In an interview with the BBC podcast "Young Again with Kirsty Young" in 2024, Steinem remarked she would hope her legacy "might help individual people. To become more the unique, valuable, loved and lovable person that they want to be." As in every aspect of her life she discusses, she looks at the positives: "It made me look forward to a time when I would be on my own and responsible only for myself."

Women's Media Center, Jane Fonda remember Gloria Steinem's lasting influence.

Tributes and remembrances have rapidly poured in for the beloved journalist. This person was celebrated for her staunch, lifelong activism in social movements for women, civil rights and gender equity.

For context, the Women's Media Center, which Steinem cofounded with Jane Fonda and Robin Morgan in 2005, mourned the pioneering feminist's loss in a heartbreaking tribute.

Julie Burton, president and CEO of the center, remarked Steinem's influence was felt in every advance for women's equality: "We could say the same about Gloria's impact on women's lives, because for decades she was at the forefront of the struggle for political and social equality and justice for women."

Fonda remembered her friend's tireless, personal approach to organizing. "No group was too small to deserve Gloria's time, " the actress remarked. "This is how she built the new women's movement." Gloria Steinem: Why her marriage was so shocking.

Morgan shared her poem "Giants at the Corner Table, " reflecting on their decadeslong friendship and collective work. "If our true height could be measure, " Morgan wrote, "you'd see how low we stoop for you, how if we straightened we would wear the clouds for garlands in our hair." GLAAD pays tribute to 'trailblazing titan' Gloria Steinem.

GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis published a statement to USA TODAY after the journalist and social movement activist's death.

Taken together, the developments around gloria Steinem, feminist icon and Ms. Magazine trailblazer, dies at 92 point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.