Gloria Steinem

An iconic feminist and prominent political activist, the 83-year-old has spent 50 years campaigning for women’s rights. Today, she continues to inspire a legion of young fans.

- Andrea Childs

At the Women’s March in Washington on 21 January this year, a crowd gathers to listen to social activist, abortion campaigner and feminist icon Gloria Steinem. Over chants of ‘Glor-i-a, Glor-i-a’, she roars her response to Donald Trump’s threats to women’s hard-won freedoms. ‘We will not be quiet, we will not be controlled… This is a day that will change us forever, because we are all together.’ Afterwards, mothers and daughters flock to the 82-year-old activist who came of age in the ‘bra-burning’ 70s. Actress Lena Dunham later describes her as ‘more magical, more profound and more lovely than I could have imagined… a formative feminist who generously lets us know she is still learning herself.’

Steinem is a survivor. She is the loved but controversial figure who links the early days of feminism (when forerunner Betty Friedan urged women out of the kitchen and into the workplace) with today’s campaigners for gender equality from Everyday Sexism Project founder Laura Bates to actress and UN Women goodwill ambassador Emma Watson. Steinem was mocked for coming late to the cause (in her early thirties) and seeming to have it both ways: a feminist who had relationships with powerful men, yet took her cause seriously. And yet today, Steinem appears even more ahead of her time. She’s someone who wears gold miniskirts, manicures her nails and has streaks in her hair. No wonder designer Prabal Gurung said she was the inspiration for the ‘modern feminism’ of his SS17 show.