Gloria Steinem and the Second-Wave Feminist Movement

Nicholas Rafferty

Gloria Steinem, an American journalist and one of the leading figures of the second-wave feminist movement, died on Sept. 2, at her home in New York City. She was 92.

While writing as a columnist for “New York Magazine,” she wrote an article titled After Black Power, Women's Liberation, which focused on the similarities between racial and gender inequality and how women needed their own movement to challenge the society they lived in.

After the article was released, Steinem gained national attention and became one of the faces of the second-wave feminist movement in the United States. Before that, in 1963, she went undercover as a Playboy Club bunny to report on the working conditions inside Hugh Hefner’s empire, an assignment that brought her early recognition as a journalist, though she later said she regretted taking it.

After publishing the article in 1969, she went on to found numerous organizations, including the National Women's Political Caucus in 1971, which offered training and support for women who wanted to be elected or appointed to public office.

That same year, she helped found the Women’s Action Alliance, which supported feminist activism and helped advance feminist causes. In 1972, she co-founded “Ms. Magazine,” which focused on issues such as gender discrimination, domestic violence, reproductive rights and sexual harassment. The magazine, and her streaked hair and aviator glasses, made her one of the most recognizable faces of the movement. 

She also helped establish Take Our Daughters to Work Day, an event that gave young girls the opportunity to learn about different careers. In 2005, she co-founded the Women's Media Center alongside actress Jane Fonda and feminist activist Robin Morgan. The organization works to ensure that women are visible and powerful in the media.

Besides creating organizations, Steinem was a lecturer and spokeswoman who spoke around the world about equality. Much of her life as an advocate was spent traveling to college campuses, community centers, rallies and marches. A major supporter of women’s reproductive rights, Steinem often described herself as a radical feminist, a feminist who seeks to challenge and abolish patriarchal systems to liberate women and create a society without male supremacy in social and economic contexts.

Steinem brought women's rights into national conversations and fought for women's freedom, opportunities and control over their own lives. She used her voice to fight against systems that favored men and limited opportunities for women. 

Steinem will be remembered nationally and globally as a pioneer and one of the leading figures of the women's rights movement.