Lots of ink will be spilled over the passing of Gloria Steinem. Properly so. In her heyday – the 1970s and ‘80s – she was a feminist star. And for decades thereafter she remained a leading voice if not the leading voice on all issues relating to securing equal rights for women. She was known not only at home but abroad, hobnobbing with elites around the world, while retaining her gift for connecting with women of every station.
What made Steinem special? Why did she, in a sea of so many other bold, bright feminists in the last quarter of the last century, stand out from an early age to the end of her life? She was of course on the cutting edge. With immaculate timing she struck just when the iron – civil rights now including women’s rights – got hot. For example, in 1971 she co-founded what became the leading feminist publication, MS magazine. Moreover, she was in every way up to the task. Unafraid, undeterred, and unerring in her political instincts, she was substantively remarkable.
What I argue here though is that what stood out most about Steinem – and what best explains her singularity – is that she was stylistically remarkable. In an era in which feminism was often associated with bra-burning, when feminists were easy to label brazen and uppity, and in which many still regarded the women’s movement as an afterthought, Steinem stood out for her presentation of self. She was unabashedly beautiful. She was always, always, perfectly groomed, immaculately coiffed, and well dressed. And she was calm and cool and reliably collected. Leave it to other women to scream and yell – not Steinem. Her tone was level and measured. Her words were pointed and articulate. She was neither vague nor defensive. She was fierce but never abrasive.
Gloria Steinem looked like a lady, and she sounded like one. She was a lady in the old-fashioned sense of this word – without exception she well-mannered and with high standards of conduct.
But make no mistake. This lady was a leader. Her leadership of women, and for women, is legend. And so, it will remain.