Remembering a Feminist Icon
Iconic Feminist Activist and Ms. Magazine Co-Founder Gloria Steinem Dies at 92
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Key Points
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Steinem's 1963 Playboy Club exposé, 'A Bunny's Tale,' documented exploitative labor conditions, mandatory gynecological examinations, and systemic harassment of Playboy Club servers, and she later said the piece made it harder for her to be taken seriously as a journalist.
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The BELLA BELLA play about Bella Abzug, which Steinem helped bring to life, illustrates how she used her platform to elevate other women's stories and collaborations beyond her own career.
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Her 'Ask the Turtle' approach — the rule against assuming you know what’s best for someone else — came from a Smith College turtle anecdote and guided years of listening to Gandhian women organizers and prioritizing local voices.
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Smith College has codified her legacy through the Steinem Initiative and the Gloria and Wilma School for Organizers, launched to train future organizers and explore gender history as a tool for social justice.
Gloria Steinem, the legendary feminist activist who co-founded Ms. magazine and spent seven decades fighting for women's equality, died at 92 in her New York City home on September 2, TIME reported. Her work shaped the modern women's movement through groundbreaking journalism, grassroots organizing, and a singular belief: listen to women first, assume nothing about what they need.
From her 1963 Playboy Club exposé exposing exploitation and harassment to her decades traveling the country amplifying other women's voices, Steinem redefined what feminism could be. Good Good Good noted she became the face of second-wave feminism, but she always insisted feminism had many faces—not just one.
The Bunny exposé that changed journalism forever
In 1963, Steinem went undercover at the Playboy Club as a bunny server. What she discovered shocked America: mandatory gynecological exams, systematic harassment, and wages so low workers survived on tips alone. Her article, 'A Bunny's Tale,' became one of the era's most powerful pieces of investigative journalism.
The exposé ignited national conversation about women's labor rights. But Steinem later said the piece had a cost: it made editors hesitant to assign her serious political work. Playboy's owner called her a spy. Still, the story proved women's issues were stories worth telling on the biggest platforms.
Co-founding Ms. magazine and shifting mainstream culture
In 1971, Steinem helped launch Ms. magazine with the mission of centering women's voices and stories. Unlike women's magazines of the era that focused on beauty and cooking, Ms. covered politics, labor, sexuality, and power. Forbes highlighted that her legacy extended far beyond one publication—it reshaped how all media covered gender.
Ms. became more than a magazine: it was a movement. Steinem used its pages to elevate Black women, Latina women, working-class women, and women whose stories mainstream America ignored. The magazine proved there was an audience hungry for feminist thought at scale.
Ask the Turtle: a philosophy of listening first
Steinem's approach to organizing came from an unlikely source: a turtle at Smith College. The rule was simple—don't assume you know what's best for someone else. Instead, ask. Listen. Center the person closest to the problem.
For decades, she traveled the country applying this principle. She sat with women organizers, heard their strategies, and amplified their voices rather than imposing her own agenda. This listening-first approach became the spine of her work. Yahoo noted that her legacy extended beyond feminism into how movements think about power and representation.
Smith College enshrines her legacy in education
Steinem's influence outlives her. Smith College, where she studied government from 1952 to 1956, established the Steinem Initiative and the Gloria and Wilma School for Organizers. These programs train the next generation to use gender history as a tool for social justice. They teach that organizing is not top-down—it's rooted in listening to communities.
Yahoo reported that her foundation confirmed her death on Instagram, signaling how Steinem's work continues in digital spaces and institutions. Her upcoming posthumous memoir, An Unexpected Life, will share her full journey—from a challenging Ohio childhood to becoming the architect of modern feminist thought.
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