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‘A Singular Journey’: Feminist Activist Gloria Steinem Dies at 92

From Daily Maverick · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth Official statement Outcome reported
  • Gloria Steinem, the American writer, organiser and feminist activist, has died at 92, her foundation said.
  • She co-founded Ms. Magazine and helped build major US women’s rights organisations from the late 1960s onward.
  • Steinem received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013 and influenced generations of women through her advocacy and writing.

Gloria Steinem, whose voice helped define the modern feminist movement in the United States, has died at 92. Her foundation announced her death in an Instagram post, closing the life of an organiser, writer and public figure who spent more than five decades campaigning for gender equality and women’s civil and reproductive rights.

Steinem co-founded Ms. Magazine and became one of the movement’s most recognisable public figures from the late 1960s onward. She also helped establish the National Women’s Political Caucus in 1971 with Bella Abzug, Shirley Chisholm and Betty Friedan. Other organisations associated with her work included the Coalition of Labor Union Women, the Women’s Media Center, Voters for Choice and the Ms. Foundation for Women.

From reluctant spokesperson to a beacon of positive change, hers is a singular journey, an American leader who can speak to us all.

· Julie TaymorTaymor, director of the film The Glorias, described Steinem’s public life in a 2017 New York Times interview.

Her influence extended well beyond political organising. Steinem’s life inspired the 2020 film The Glorias, based on her 2015 autobiography, My Life on the Road. She was also the subject of a 2018 play and a 2011 HBO documentary. In 2013, President Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest US civilian honour.

I want to do justice to the women I meet, to tell their stories.

· Gloria SteinemSteinem explained her approach to activism in a 2015 interview with The New Yorker.

With her centre-parted, blonde-streaked hair and aviator glasses, Steinem became a glamorous symbol of feminism. She argued that the movement had to include women of every race and described herself as “an entrepreneur of social change.” In a 2015 interview with The New Yorker, she said, “I want to do justice to the women I meet, to tell their stories,” adding that empowerment depended on listening to women’s experiences.

Film and theatre director Julie Taymor, who directed The Glorias, described Steinem in 2017 as “a beacon of positive change” and “an American leader who can speak to us all.”

It’s making connections, and using myself to listen, because we can’t empower women without listening to their stories.

· Gloria SteinemSteinem described listening as central to her work in the same 2015 interview.
About this summary

Originally published by Daily Maverick in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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