Archive · 6 Oct 2026
Gloria Steinem’s Feminist Legacy Draws Praise and Scrutiny
Gloria Steinem was a writer and activist who spoke up for women’s rights.
She challenged unfair treatment of women at work and the way women were portrayed as products.
Some people praise her for helping make these issues visible.
Others question parts of her politics, including her reported links to the CIA and her positions on international issues.
The article says she later changed some views and apologised for a comment about young women who supported Bernie Sanders.
Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris praised her after her death.
The author says people can honour Steinem while also asking hard questions about her legacy.
They argue that feminists from different parts of the world should be able to examine which causes she supported and which she did not.
Gloria Steinem, who the article says died at 92, was known for challenging women’s economic inequality, limits on bodily autonomy, and the commodification of women.
The article says Steinem criticised capitalist exploitation and women’s devalued labour, while seeking feminist change within and across economic systems.
Critics have questioned her reported CIA connections, her positions on Zionism, and what the article describes as her silence on sanctions and Western imperialism.
Steinem later changed her earlier views on transgender transition and apologised for a 2016 remark about young women supporting Bernie Sanders.
Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris praised Steinem, while the article argues that her legacy should also be examined through decolonial feminist perspectives.
- Who
- Gloria Steinem, an American feminist activist and journalist.
- What
- Her feminist record is being praised and critically examined after her death.
- When
- After her death at 92; the article does not give a date.
- Where
- The article discusses Steinem’s public life and legacy, particularly in the United States and in international feminist debates.
- Why
- The author argues that her contributions and political positions, including issues she did not address, should both be examined.
Celebrating Steinem’s contributions
Examining the limits of her politics
Her feminist impact
Celebrating Steinem’s contributions
Steinem helped bring attention to women’s economic inequality, bodily autonomy, and the commodification of women; Clinton and Harris praised her activism.
Examining the limits of her politics
The author says her legacy should not be celebrated without examining which women and political struggles received less attention.
Capitalism and women’s liberation
Celebrating Steinem’s contributions
Steinem criticised capitalist exploitation and the devaluation of women’s labour, while pursuing feminist transformation within and across economic systems.
Examining the limits of her politics
Critics cited in the article argue that her approach did not sufficiently address structural issues beyond liberal reforms and representation.
International politics
Celebrating Steinem’s contributions
The article notes Steinem’s criticism of the United States’ wars in Vietnam and Iraq and her opposition to the suffering of women in war.
Examining the limits of her politics
The author questions her silence on sanctions against Iran and Cuba and on what the article characterises as Western imperialism and neocolonialism.
- Age at death
- 92, according to the article
- Occupation
- Activist and journalist
- Issues highlighted
- Women’s economic rights, bodily autonomy, and the commodification of women
- CIA-related claim
- The article says a 1975 Redstockings report linked Steinem to the CIA and to Independent Research Services, which it describes as indirectly CIA-funded.
- Earlier position
- The article says Steinem initially argued that surgical transitions reinforced gender stereotypes, but later changed her position.
- 2016 apology
- She apologised for a remark suggesting young women supported Bernie Sanders partly to meet young men.
- Tributes
- Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris praised Steinem after her death.