The face of American feminism

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Gloria Steinem, who died Wednesday at 92, defined feminism in the US. Where will that movement go next?

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Gloria Steinem — the one-woman powerhouse who, in many ways, defined modern feminism in the United States — died Wednesday at 92 after six decades of activism.

Steinem was a journalist and advocate who first rose to prominence in the late 1960s, just as the women’s liberation movement exploded. She co-founded Ms. magazine, a trailblazing publication that mainstreamed once-taboo topics like sexual harassment, wage inequity, and the unfair division of household labor.

As an advocate, Steinem also led protests, worked to elect more female politicians, and lobbied for abortion rights, employment protections, and the long-deferred Equal Rights Amendment.

The ERA, which would create a constitutional guarantee of equal rights for women, has never officially been adopted, despite being ratified by the required number of states. Many of the other causes Steinem championed, however, are now at least firmly part of mainstream cultural and political debate.

Later in life, as the feminist movement evolved, Steinem continued to serve as a kind of elder statesperson. (We’ll break down how exactly it evolved in just a minute.) Much of her recent writing and speaking focused — for obvious, depressing reasons — on the importance of hope and persistence in social justice movements.

“Hope is a form of planning,” she told Vogue on her 90th birthday, in 2024. “If you don’t imagine what could be, you’re already defeated.”

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