What Did Gloria Steinem Contribute to American Feminism?

Gloria Steinem's death Wednesday prompted significant reflection on her life and the feminist movement. Outlets on the left and some in the center highlighted her contribution to the feminist movement and questioned its future, while other center and right outlets explored her affiliation with the CIA during the Cold War.

Contributions to Feminism: BBC (Center bias) described Steinem as a "powerful icon of America's feminist movement" who "changed the lives of generations of women," highlighting her support of legalized abortion, same-sex marriage, and gender pay equality as well as her opposition to the death penalty and female genital mutilation. Steinem also launched Ms. Magazine, an all-female founded and operated periodical that still exists today, as well as coined the phrase "reproductive freedom," which continues to be used in debates about abortion. Steinem testified at Senate hearings for the Equal Rights Amendment in 1970, though Congress failed to pass it.

Involvement With the CIA: RT (Lean Right) and UnHerd (Center) both published analysis pieces on Steinem's affiliation with the CIA during the Cold War. According to RT, Steinem sought funding to do social reform work and promote women's freedom and independence and received funding for a nonprofit organization from the CIA after she learned that corporations were not interested in supporting her. The nonprofit, called the Independent Research Service, took liberal American students and young professionals to share American leftist ideas at Soviet youth festivals as an alternative to communism. At the time, Soviet messaging painted women as educated, socially active participants in public life, so it was "hardly surprising that it wasn't long before Washington understood the competitive value of offering its own version," RT wrote. UnHerd quoted Steinem's memoir, in which she wrote, "In my experience the [Central Intelligence] Agency was completely different from its image; it was liberal, nonviolent, and honorable."

Critiques of Steinem: An opinion piece in The Conversation (Lean Left) called Steinem "one of our greatest witnesses to a feminist revolution" but criticized some obituaries' oversimplification of the women's movement by calling her its "face" or "leader." The article noted that the 20th-century women's movement neglected racism and issues of sexuality and that Steinem faced criticism for fostering an "either/or feminism" through her fierce support of Hillary Clinton over Barack Obama before the 2008 election. BBC also noted criticism from Betty Friedan, author of The Feminine Mystique, who accused Steinem of making a private profit off the movement.

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