09/03/2026
The New York State Museum remembers feminist, activist, writer, and New Yorker, Gloria Steinem (1934-2026).
After college, Gloria Steinem traveled in India, where her eyes were opened to political organizing and the importance of listening. Upon her return, she settled in New York City and began her career in journalism. Working as a freelance writer, Steinem received what she considered to be her “first serious assignment” to write “The Moral Disarmament of Betty Coed,” on the changes to the social and professional lives of young women due to the birth control pill. Steinem’s experience in the male-dominated publishing field led her to cofound Ms. magazine in 1972 as a forum for serious articles on women’s issues generated by women editors and authors.
As an activist, Steinem dedicated her life to traveling to give talks, promote feminist causes (including the Equal Rights Amendment, ERA), and facilitate discussions among diverse groups. In 1977, she served as a commissioner for International Women’s Year and was involved in the work of the state women’s meetings and the National Women’s Meeting in Houston. New York’s meeting, held July 8–10, 1977, in Albany, was significantly better attended than anyone expected. Steinem later recalled: “I’d stopped in Albany for the opening ceremony—and then I was going home to write and make a living, but I ended up staying for two days and two nights without bed or toothbrush, helping with the voting lines.”
Steinem appears in the New York State Museum through several collections gifted by women photographers and fellow activists:
Image 1: Steinem was captured by photographer Margaret McCarthy, speaking at an event in New York City in October 1979 (H-2025.11.12, copyright Margaret McCarthy)
Image 2: Steinem appears with the Second Congressional Union, as they picketed the White House Gates in support of passage of the ERA in 1981. This image was part of a collection donated by fellow activist Pam Elam, who can be seen on the far left. (H-2016.32.33)
Image 2: Steinem appeared at a fundraising event alongside fellow New Yorker, Representative Bella Abzug, captured by Diana Mara Henry (H-2021.78.251, copyright Diana Mara Henry)
