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🇰🇷 South Korea /Culture & Society

Gloria Steinem, the ‘godmother of 20th-century feminism,’ dies at 92

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

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

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Outcome reported
  • American feminist activist and journalist Gloria Steinem has died at her home in New York at age 92, according to her foundation.
  • Steinem helped establish the Women’s Action Alliance and founded Ms. magazine, while campaigning on reproductive rights, workplace equality, domestic violence and LGBTQ rights.
  • She also supported peace initiatives on the Korean Peninsula, including a 2015 women’s march across the Demilitarized Zone.

Gloria Steinem, widely known as the “godmother of 20th-century feminism,” has died at her home in New York at the age of 92, according to a statement from her foundation on Instagram.

Steinem became an international symbol of the feminist movement as both an activist and a journalist. Born in Toledo, Ohio, in 1934, she studied political science at Smith College before beginning a journalism career. In 1963, she worked undercover at the New York Playboy Club and drew attention with an article exposing exploitation and sex discrimination there. She said her commitment to feminism deepened in 1969 after listening to women discuss their decisions to end pregnancies at a church near Washington Square.

If women and men do not have the right to make decisions about their own bodies, democracy does not exist.

· Gloria SteinemSteinem defended bodily autonomy while discussing reproductive rights.

She helped establish the Women’s Action Alliance in 1971 and founded Ms. magazine the following year. The magazine promoted “Ms.” as a form of address that did not identify women by their marital status. Steinem continued to campaign on domestic violence, inequality at work, reproductive rights and LGBTQ rights.

If we are not in the same space, we cannot achieve true empathy.

· Gloria SteinemShe explained her support for a women-led crossing of the Korean Demilitarized Zone.

Her activism focused heavily on reproductive rights during the 1970s. The first issue of Ms. carried an article titled “We Have Had Abortions.” A year later, the US Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision recognized abortion rights as constitutionally protected, a ruling overturned by the court in 2022. Steinem said, “If women and men do not have the right to make decisions about their own bodies, democracy does not exist.”

Steinem also took an interest in peace on the Korean Peninsula. In 2015, she joined women peace activists in organizing a crossing of the Demilitarized Zone and served as a co-chair of Women Cross DMZ. In an interview with the Associated Press that year, she said, “If we are not in the same space, we cannot achieve true empathy.” During a 2019 visit to South Korea, she told young Korean feminists, “Women can help achieve peace by proposing ways to embrace the other side.”

Women can help achieve peace by proposing ways to embrace the other side.

· Gloria SteinemSteinem addressed young Korean feminists during a 2019 visit.
About this summary

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. 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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