New Yorkers are mourning the loss of Gloria Steinem, one of the most influential voices in feminist activism and a leading figure in the women’s rights movement, who died on Wednesday inside her Upper East Side home at age 92, according to a post made on her Instagram account.
The post said she died “surrounded by some of the many who loved her,” but did not provide information on the circumstances leading to her death.
“Gloria lived true to her independent spirit, always with curiosity and a great sense of humor,” the post detailed.
For more than half a century, Steinem championed women’s rights, working for equality across gender, race, class and national boundaries.
Known in the 1960s and 1970s for her long hair parted in the middle and signature tinted aviator glasses, Steinem — who once had a fear of public speaking — became a widely recognizable advocate for women’s rights, appearing on TV and speaking at college campuses, rallies and marches.
“Gloria’s greatest gift was her ability to listen to others, to make others feel seen and heard,” the tribute post read. “Her words, actions, and example gave people permission to be their truest selves.”
Steinem’s activism helped spur the recognition of numerous rights for women through Congressional action and Supreme Court cases in the latter half of the 20th century, as former Secretary of State (and New York Sen.) Hillary Rodham Clinton reminded in a statement Thursday.
Those achievements included Title IX, which ensured that women’s sports programs in college received the same amount of funding as men’s sports programs; and the 1973 Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade that legalized women’s reproductive rights across America for the next half-century before being overturned in the 2022 Dobbs decision.
“She wasn’t going to be an astronaut, but she made it possible for Sally Ride to be an astronaut. She wasn’t going to play college sports, but she stood behind the women in Congress who passed Title IX. And she wasn’t on the Supreme Court when Roe v. Wade was decided, but her voice and her activism was behind that advancement for women’s rights,” Clinton said.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani, in a social media statement, said Steinem had “taught America that sexism is a symptom of a system that can be changed,” and that New York was “lucky to have her” as a resident for 70 years.
“From the fight for equal pay to abortion access and political representation, she showed that progress comes when people organize, build power and refuse to accept inequality as inevitable,” the mayor wrote. “Her legacy is the millions of people she inspired to believe that a more just world was possible. She lived in New York for 70 years. We were lucky to have her. We mourn her loss and will carry her work forward.”
Launching ‘Ms.’ magazine
Born in Toledo, Ohio, Steinem was also a pioneering journalist at a time in America when men mostly ran newsrooms. After receiving numerous freelance and steady gigs — including one in which she went undercover to expose working conditions at Hugh Hefner’s New York Playboy Club — Steinem co-founded “Ms.” magazine in 1972.
According to the New York Times, Steinem held meetings for Ms. in her Upper East Side home — the one she would live in for the rest of her life.
“She and several like-minded women wanted to create a publication that would speak to women’s lives in a way that the women’s magazines, devoted mainly to tips on beauty, how to catch a man and 25 exciting ways to make a hamburger, did not,” the Times wrote.
The glossy magazine was not without its skeptics. According to the Times, Harry Reasoner, a TV news anchor, dismissed the periodical saying, “I’ll give it six months before they run out of things to say.” Though, he later apologized, the Times noted.
But Ms. is still here.
“At the time that first issue [of Ms.] was published, there were local feminist publications here and in some other countries, but there was no national voice for those of us who had the radical idea that women are people,” Steinem wrote for Ms.’ 50th anniversary in 2022. “I didn’t know what the response would be, especially on newsstands, with no precedent or place for a women’s magazine that wasn’t about home, family and children.”
Later years
Those closest to Steinem said she spent her most recent years focused on two things she loved most: connecting with others and writing. She hosted hundreds of guests in her living room for Talking Circles, a tradition she said she hoped would continue after her death.
Steinem’s death occurred just weeks before the Sept. 22 release of her new book, “An Unexpected Life.”
“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 post read.
In lieu of flowers, those wishing to honor Steinem are asked to consider donating to the Gloria Steinem Foundation.