Steinem organised marches and quickly became a draw at demonstrations, although she admitted later that she found talking to the huge crowds “utterly terrifying”.
After Congress failed to pass the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) in 1970 – legislation granting women equal rights to men – Steinem co-founded the National Women’s Political Caucus with fellow feminist leaders and more than 300 women across the US. The group worked to include women in all aspects of political and public life.
The same year, she testified at Senate hearings for the ERA, telling the predominantly male audience: “I have been refused service in public restaurants, ordered out of public gathering places and turned away from apartment rentals all for the clearly stated, sole reason that I am a woman.”
Second-wave feminism continued to gain momentum and Steinem was one of its most famous figureheads.
She was also supportive of same-sex marriage, but was criticised for an essay she wrote in 1977 on transgender people. She clarified her position in 2013, saying the words in her “old essay” had been taken “out of time and context”.
“I believe that transgender people, including those who have transitioned, are living out real, authentic lives. Those lives should be celebrated, not questioned,” she wrote in an opinion piece, external.
Steinem was also criticised for a 1998 essay in the New York Times, where she showed support for then-President Bill Clinton after news broke of his scandalous affair with intern Monica Lewinsky – who was 22 years old at the time.
“The truth is that even if the allegations are true, the president is not guilty of sexual harassment,” Steinem wrote. “He is accused of having made a gross, dumb and reckless pass at a supporter during a low point in her life.”
In 2017, she said she “wouldn’t write the same thing now”.
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