Gloria Steinem, the journalist and activist who became one of the most recognizable faces of American feminism, has died at her home in New York City at age 92, according to a statement posted on her official Instagram page.
A Life Devoted To Equality
The statement said Steinem passed away peacefully on Wednesday, surrounded by people who loved her, adding that her near-century on Earth was well lived and that she continued working for equality until the very end. No cause of death was given.
From Undercover Reporter To Movement Leader
Steinem first drew national attention in 1963 when she went undercover as a Playboy Bunny for an exposé on the club's working conditions, before going on to co-found Ms. magazine and the Women's Media Center. Over the following decades she became a leading voice on reproductive rights, workplace equality and sexual harassment, and was instrumental in reshaping the legal and cultural landscape for American women.
Bridging Movements
Unlike some of her contemporaries, Steinem pushed the feminist movement to center race and class alongside gender from early on, drawing explicit connections between the fight for women's rights and the Black Power movement in her writing. She remained a fixture at rallies, campuses and community events well into her later years, using her home as what her foundation called a center for social justice organizing.
Tributes Pour In
Her foundation asked supporters to light a candle in her honor and to consider donations to Gloria's Foundation in lieu of flowers. Tributes came in quickly from women across politics, entertainment and journalism, many crediting Steinem's decades of advocacy with fundamentally changing what opportunities were available to them.