Senate Resolution No. 2373
BY: Senator WEBB
MOURNING the death of Gloria Steinem, journalist,
social activist, and Feminist icon
WHEREAS, It is the custom of this Legislative Body to pay tribute to
citizens of the State of New York whose lifework and civic endeavors
served to enhance the quality of life in their communities and the great
State of New York; and
WHEREAS, Gloria Steinem died on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, in her
home in New York City, New York at the age of 92; and
WHEREAS, Born in Toledo, Ohio, on March 25, 1934, Gloria Steinem's
mother, Ruth, suffered from mental health issues and her parents
eventually split up when she was 10, leaving her largely to care for her
mother for the next seven years; and
WHEREAS, After she finished high school, Gloria Steinem moved to the
Washington D.C. area to live with her older sister and then attended
Smith College in Massachusetts where, after graduation, she became a
freelance writer, profiling people from Paul Newman to Pat Nixon; and
WHEREAS, Gloria Steinem's zest for social journalism and activism
led her to delve into the inequities of American society when, in 1963,
she went undercover in New York's Playboy Club for her subsequent
article "I Was a Playboy Bunny" which garnered national attention to the
indignities of those working as hostesses while offering sympathetic
portraits of the women; and
WHEREAS, Gloria Steinem was a supporter of the 1968 presidential bid
of South Dakota Sen. George McGovern, an early foe of the Vietnam War
and whom Steinem found to be an "unpretentious, honest man"; and
WHEREAS, In 1971, Gloria Steinem co-founded the National Women's
Political Caucus, a group that brought together a powerhouse collection
of leaders including New York Representatives Bella Abzug and Shirley
Chisholm, "Feminine Mystique" author Betty Friedan and longtime
activists Fannie Lou Hamer, Myrlie Evers, LaDonna Harris and Dorothy
Height; and
WHEREAS, Also in 1971, Gloria Steinem co-founded Ms. Magazine which
became wildly popular and gave a national voice to Women's Rights
movements and Feminism as a whole; and
WHEREAS, The magazine made history by publishing a list of 53
prominent women who had undergone abortions, "Our purpose is not to
alienate or to ask for sympathy, but to repeal archaic and inhumane
laws," the accompanying text stated; months later, abortion was
legalized nationally in the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade ruling; and
WHEREAS, Throughout the decades of her work, Gloria Steinem
championed social causes like the Equal Rights Amendment, even
testifying to the Senate in 1970, in support of ratifying the amendment;
and
WHEREAS, As well as being a peace activist, Gloria Steinem
continually worked on economic issues such as unequal pay for women, and
sought to bridge racial divides, often speaking on tour with Black
activists such as Dorothy Pitman Hughes and Florynce Kennedy; and
WHEREAS, Over the years, Gloria Steinem helped found a number of
organizations, including the Women's Action Alliance, Voters for Choice
(later the Planned Parenthood Action Fund), the Women's Media Center and
the Ms. Foundation for Women; through the latter, Steinem played a role
in the birth of Take Our Daughters to Work Day, which was conceived as a
New York City event to increase the self-esteem of girls; and
WHEREAS, Gloria Steinem's influence and work have thrust her into
the national zeitgeist many times over her decades of activism and she
has been referenced and portrayed in a number of productions; Kirstie
Alley starred as her in 1985, in "A Bunny's Tale," a TV movie based on
Steinem's Playboy Club experience and in 2020, there was "The Glorias,"
a movie in which she was played by different actresses in different
stages of her life, and "Mrs. America," which dramatized the battle over
the Equal Rights Amendment where Rose Byrne portrayed her, with Cate
Blanchett as Schlafly and Margo Martindale as Abzug; and
WHEREAS, HBO produced a 2011 documentary about Gloria Steinem titled
"Gloria: In Her Own Words," and she was also prominently featured in
"Dear Ms.: A Revolution in Print," a 2025 HBO documentary; and
WHEREAS, In the near century of her life, Gloria Steinem penned a
multitude of articles and books, including her 1983 book, "Outrageous
Acts and Everyday Rebellions," dedicated to challenging the social
constructs of the world she was born into; and
WHEREAS, Citing the influence she had on his social perspective,
President Barack Obama awarded Gloria Steinem the Presidential Medal of
Freedom in 2013; and
WHEREAS, Armed with a humanistic spirit and imbued with a sense of
compassion, Gloria Steinem leaves behind a legacy and a body of work
which will long endure the passage of time and will continue to
influence and inspire future generations to question and challenge
inequity; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
mourn the death of Gloria Steinem, social journalist, activist, and
Feminist icon; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to the family of Gloria Steinem.
