Gloria Steinem, a journalist, political activist and founder of Ms. Magazine, died Wednesday at the age of 92.
Her death was posted on her Instagram page, and the cause was not revealed.
Steinem was best known for moving feminism into a major national social movement, and through public speaking, political advocacy and insightful journalism helped raise awareness of workplace discrimination, reproductive freedom, and gender stereotypes.
Steinem was born on March 25, 1934, in Toledo, Ohio, and spent her early years traveling around the country in a trailer. She graduated from Smith College in 1956, and in her early career worked as a journalist and writer, covering social and political issues. Steinem gained attention in 1963 with her article, “I Was a Playboy Bunny,” which recalled her experience as a scantily-clad waitress at the Playboy Club. She wrote a column, “The City Politic,” for New York Magazine.
Over time, she became one of the prominent voices for women’s equality in the U.S. In 1972, she cofounded Ms. Magazine, where she helped create a national platform for feminist ideas. She helped establish the National Women’s Political Caucus, Women’s Action Alliance, and Women’s Media Center.
In August, 2011, the documentary, “Gloria: In Her Own Words,” premiered on HBO. The film used thousands of photos, rare video footage, and Steinem’s own stories to tell the story of the women’s movement as seen through one of its central figures. At first Steinem was reluctant to do the film, but her friend Sheila Nevins, president of HBO Documentary Films, wouldn’t take “no” for an answer. “We wanted to capture what it was about Gloria that inspired a generation of women to fight for themselves,” Nevins told the Los Angeles Times at the time.
In recent years Steinem would welcome hundreds of guests into her living room for Talking Circles, as a means of organizing and movement building. Her latest book, “An Unexpected Life,” is due to be published Sept. 22.
Speaking at Eileen Fisher’s “Women Together” event in 2019, Steinem was asked what’s important in this moment of women coming together.
“We are communal animals as human beings. We can’t function all by ourselves. There’s a reason why solitary confinement is torture,” said Steinem, who was dressed in her usual black sweater and pants, with a wide black belt accented with a striking gold disc. She added, “We need to be together. We’ve been sitting around campfires for hundreds and hundreds of years with everyone able to speak. There’s nothing more fundamental than what you’re doing right now.”
She told the audience that what was especially important now is that women talk to each other considering that people spend an average of 11 hours a day in this country looking at a screen. “Technology is great. I love books, too. You don’t generate oxytocin, which allows you to empathize with each other, unless you’re together,” she said.
In Venice, Diane von Furstenberg fondly recalled Steinem, who was honored with the DVF Lifetime Leadership Award in 2014. “She was a free woman and really cool, a true bad-ass. She had the name she deserved because she brought glory to so many women,” said von Furstenberg.
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