Gloria Steinem Dies at 92 Leaves Controversial Legacy of her Great Contributions to the Feminist Movement in America

Gloria Steinem has died at the age of 92, leaving behind a controversial legacy of her contributions to the feminist movement in America, the issues of abortion rights, female labor, marriage and motherhood and the overall equality of women.

Gloria Steinem found her political voice when she attended a meeting where women shared their intimate experiences about illegal abortions; Steinem was able to openly speak about her own experience of having an abortion at the age of 22 in England, when the procedure was still illegal in the United States.

To Steinem, the fight for women’s reproductive freedom was not limited to abortion, but rather included a woman’s right to decide what to do with her own body.

She was also one of the most prominent figures of the American cultural revolution of the 20th century, which involved women going to work, getting credit and challenging the status quo.

Steinem spoke and wrote extensively about female emancipation, bringing it to the forefront of American liberal thought through the creation of Ms. Magazine and a number of other influential sources.

At the same time, Steinem’s popularity as a public speaker and activist was quickly overshadowed by a wave of conservative backlash. The Heritage Foundation’s Delano Squires argued that Steinem’s rhetoric was responsible for promoting abortion while devaluing marriage, motherhood and gender norms. This is just one example of the larger cultural fight being waged between the left and right wings. With falling birth and marriage rates fueling growing concerns about women’s emancipation, the debate over its consequences is becoming increasingly relevant.

Gloria Steinem’s legacy lives on today, fueling and fueling many of the debates that rage in America around women’s rights, gender and marriage. Women’s historian Estelle Freedman believes Steinem played a significant role in the evolution of American feminism over the past several decades.

Business Fortune believes that Gloria Steinem’s death has raised many questions about the issues of abortion rights, marriage and motherhood.