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Why Gloria Steinem’s Legacy Still Matters Across Feminism’s Waves
Gloria Steinem was an important leader in the feminist movement.
She died on September 3 at age 92.
Feminism’s first wave focused mainly on women gaining the right to vote.
The second wave, which Steinem helped lead, fought for fair treatment at work and more control over reproduction.
Steinem also used journalism to expose the exploitation of women.
Later feminists said the movement had not paid enough attention to Black women and other groups.
This helped lead to ideas about intersectionality, which means that different parts of a person’s identity can affect their experiences together.
Newer waves also focused on LGBTQ rights and harassment, including through the #MeToo movement.
Steinem’s work is still discussed because reproductive rights and equality remain contested.
Gloria Steinem, a leading second-wave feminist, died on Thursday, September 3, aged 92.
Her journalism and activism helped promote workplace equality, reproductive rights, and women’s public participation.
The second wave followed earlier suffrage campaigns and expanded feminism into private-life concerns such as reproduction.
Later feminist waves criticized the movement’s limited attention to race, class, sexuality, caste, and LGBTQ identities.
Steinem’s ideas remain relevant amid renewed debates over reproductive rights and the legacy of Roe v. Wade.
- Who
- Gloria Steinem, a prominent feminist activist and journalist, along with other feminist organizers and writers.
- What
- Steinem’s death prompted reflection on her role in second-wave feminism and the movement’s development across later waves.
- Where
- The movement’s history discussed here centers on the United States, with connections to India through Steinem’s visits and collaborations.
- When
- She died on Thursday, September 3, at age 92; the article also discusses feminism from the late 19th century through the 2010s.
- Why
- Her work influenced debates about women’s public roles, workplace equality, reproductive rights, and the limitations of earlier feminist approaches.
Second-Wave Contributions
Intersectional Critiques
Movement priorities
Second-Wave Contributions
Steinem and other second-wave feminists emphasized women’s rights in public life, including employment, reproductive control, and childcare.
Intersectional Critiques
Critics argued that a movement led largely by White women overlooked Black women’s more immediate struggles and double burden of racial and gender discrimination.
Understanding gender
Second-Wave Contributions
Steinem viewed the man-woman binary as a strategic category for advocating reproductive rights and achieving policy change.
Intersectional Critiques
Later feminists broadened the discussion to include sexuality, LGBTQ identities, and the overlapping effects of race, class, gender, and caste.
Legacy and change
Second-Wave Contributions
Supporters say Steinem’s accessible work brought together people across contexts and created foundations later feminists could build upon.
Intersectional Critiques
Later waves maintained that feminism must become more inclusive and dynamic by addressing groups and experiences insufficiently recognized in earlier movements.
Key facts
- Age at death
- 92
- Feminist wave associated with Steinem
- Second Wave, especially the 1960s and 1970s
- Early India visit
- Steinem visited Miranda House in Delhi in 1957 as a fellowship participant.
- Key U.S. law
- The Equal Pay Act of 1963 banned sex-based pay discrimination for the same work.
- Employment protections
- Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin.
- Reproductive-rights ruling
- Roe v. Wade, decided in 1973, gave women a constitutional right to abortion, according to the article.
- Later feminist movements
- The Third Wave emphasized intersectionality, while the Fourth Wave expanded activism around issues including #MeToo and LGBTQ identities.
Quotes
Gloria Steinem
American feminist activist, journalist, and Ms. magazine co-founder
“A major reason that women of the powerful group are restricted and women of the less powerful group exploited is to keep the visible differences of race or caste alive. They can only be uprooted together.”
indianexpress.com
“What would happen, for instance, if suddenly, magically, men could menstruate and women could not? The answer is clear — menstruation would become an enviable, boast-worthy, masculine event.”
indianexpress.com
Dr Bijayalaxmi Nanda
Principal of Miranda House and professor of political science
“She brought out the first women’s magazine in the US on her own, and she remains an iconic figure for her work. Steinem was grounded and committed to causes such as anti-child trafficking in India and her feminist criticism of pornography — all of that is still relevant.”
indianexpress.com
