Gloria Steinem (b. 1934) is a feminist organizer, activist, writer and teacher.
In 1972 she founded Ms. magazine with Dorothy Pittman Hughes—the cover image was a drawing with the caption, “Wonder Woman for President.” In 1968, she helped establish New York magazine, which first published the Ms. as a special edition. She published the important essay, “After Black Power, Women’s Liberation” (1969), “What Would It Look Life If Women Win” (1970), and the satire, “If Men could Menstruate” (1972). She was a major advocate for the Equal Rights Amendment, and she was the first woman to speak at the National Press Club in 1972.
Steinem’s activisms for women, and for social justice, are legendary and ongoing. She is a founding member of the Women’s Action Alliance, the National Women’s Political Caucus (along with Bella Abzug, Shirley Chisholm, Betty Friedan, and Myrlie Evers-Williams), Women’s Media Center, Equality Now, the Ms. Foundation for Women, and many others.
She has written several books, including Revolutions for Within: A Book of Self Esteem, Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions, and Moving Beyond Words. She has produced documentaries on child abuse and on the death penalty.
Watch: Gloria Steinem (Makers, 2014)
Read:
Caroline G. Heilbrun, Education of a Woman: The Life of Gloria Steinem (1996)
Gloria Steinem, My Life on the Road (2015)