Feminist activist and Ms. magazine co-founder Gloria Steinem dies at 92

Gloria Steinem, the journalist and activist who became one of the most recognizable leaders of the second-wave American feminist movement, died Sept. 2 at her home in New York City at age 92. 

“Yesterday, Gloria Steinem passed away peacefully at her home in New York City, surrounded by some of the many who loved her,” a post on her social media account said Sept. 3. “Gloria’s near-century on earth were years well-lived, and she continued working for equality until the very end.”

While a specific cause of death was not disclosed, AP News reported that Steinem’s health had been declining and she had recently become physically frail. 

“Gloria’s greatest gift was her ability to listen to others, to make others feel seen and heard,” the statement continued. “Her words, actions, and example gave people permission to be their truest selves. Gloria lived true to her independent spirit, always with curiosity and a great sense of humor.”

“She spent her recent years doing the two things she loved most: being in community with others and writing,” it added.

Born March 25, 1934, in Toledo, Ohio, Steinem graduated from Smith College in 1956 and spent two years studying in India before beginning her journalism career, according to her biography. She gained national attention in 1963 after working undercover at a Playboy Club and writing an exposé about the treatment and working conditions of its waitresses.

Steinem joined the editorial staff of New York magazine in 1968 and worked there as a political columnist and feature writer. She later said attending a 1969 gathering at which women publicly spoke out in favor of abortion marked the beginning of her activism, AP News reported.

“Either our control over our own bodies is equal, regardless of sex or race, or we’re not living in a democracy,” Steinem told AP News in a 2022 email following the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade. 

Steinem had undergone an illegal abortion in London when she was 22 and became a prominent advocate for legal abortion throughout her life. 

Steinem helped found Ms. magazine, which first appeared as an insert in New York in 1971 before becoming a stand-alone magazine the following year. The publication advocated abortion and the proposed Equal Rights Amendment, while covering issues such as wage disparities between men and women and domestic violence. Steinem served as an editor at the feminist magazine for about 15 years and later worked as a consulting editor.

In 1971, she joined New York Democratic Reps. Bella Abzug and Shirley Chisholm, writer Betty Friedan, and more than 300 other women in founding the National Women’s Political Caucus, an organization created to increase the number of women holding public office.

According to her biography, she also helped establish the Ms. Foundation for Women and the Women’s Media Center and served as president and co-founder of Voters for Choice, a pro-abortion political action committee that partnered with the Planned Parenthood Action Fund for the 2004 elections.

Former President Barack Obama awarded Steinem the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, in 2013. The White House credited her with helping lead the “women’s liberation movement” and launching “a wide variety of groups and publications dedicated to advancing civil rights.”

Steinem delivered a keynote address at the 2017 Women’s March in Washington, D.C., one day after President Donald Trump’s first inauguration. Speaking to protesters, she criticized Trump and declared that “our Constitution does not begin with ‘I, the president.’ It begins with ‘We, the people.’” 

Her books included Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions, Revolution from Within, and the 2015 memoir My Life on the Road. Steinem completed another memoir, An Unexpected Life, shortly before her death. Random House plans to publish it Sept. 22.

“This book, along with her commitment to her home becoming a center for social justice movements, are among the many gifts Gloria has given the world with the hope they have ripple effects for generations to come,” the statement announcing her death said.

Steinem married environmental and animal-rights activist David Bale, the father of actor Christian Bale, in 2000 and became a stepmother to his four adult children. Bale died of brain lymphoma in 2003 at age 62. Steinem was also preceded in death by her parents, Ruth and Leo Steinem, and her sister, Susanne Steinem Patch.