Gloria Steinem and Dorothy Pitman Hughes

Writer and political activist Gloria Steinem emerged as a powerful voice for women’s rights at a time when many Americans viewed feminism solely as a white, middle-class movement. In provocative articles such as “After Black Power, Women’s Liberation” (1969), Steinem argued that inclusiveness across racial and economic boundaries was fundamental to the campaign for gender equality. To underscore the point that all women, regardless of race or class, had a stake in this struggle, Steinem joined forces with activist Dorothy Pitman Hughes, a leading child-care advocate. In 1970 they embarked on a series of high-profile national speaking tours to galvanize grassroots support for women’s issues. In this formal studio portrait published in Esquire magazine in October 1971, Steinem and Hughes signal their solidarity with the raised-fist salute first popularized by members of the Black Power movement.