Gloria Steinem's personal archives include over 60 years of photographs, press clippings, writing, handwritten letters, speech drafts, and countless other materials that illuminate a revolutionary movement.
Dive in and uncover stories within Gloria's journey, from her earliest writing about dating and fashion to her co-founding of Ms. magazine and beyond.
Crazy Legs Or, The Biography of a Fashion (1964) by Gloria SteinemGloria's Foundation
Writer and activist Gloria Steinem arrived to New York in the 1960s, hoping to make her mark as a hard-hitting political journalist. She quickly found it wouldn't be so simple.
Gloria describes the low point of her freelance career as this lengthy feature on textured stockings.
How To Find Your Type by Gloria Steinem and 1963Gloria's Foundation
Despite hundreds of feminist publications cropping up by the early '70s, none were widely spread. To pay the bills and further her career as a journalist, Gloria took commissions about food, fashion and dating - the only topics women were ever assigned at the time.
Funny Ways to Find a Man on the Beach (1963) by Gloria SteinemGloria's Foundation
Needless to say, the assignments Gloria received starkly contrasted to the political issues she saw, experienced, and wanted to cover in her writing.
Gloria Steinem on working as a woman (1975) by Woman Alive!Gloria's Foundation
In 1975, Gloria reflected on her early writing career for Woman Alive!
She noted that in her early career, she passed her ideas on to men so they were more likely to be published.
ENTER: New York Magazine
Gloria Steinem earned a spot on New York's founding team with Clay Felker, Jimmy Breslin, Tom Wolfe, and Milton Glaser. With a shoestring budget in hand and editorial vision in mind, the group set out to create a publication that examined New York City’s complexities.
Gloria Steinem and Clay Felker at New York Magazine by Gloria's Foundation ArchivesGloria's Foundation
Clay Felker and Gloria Steinem
Before co-founding New York, Clay Felker was Gloria's editor at Esquire. Gloria said of Felker, "Clay is a walking test area for ideas."
New York's Inaugural Issue (1968-04-08) by New York MagazineGloria's Foundation
The inaugural issue of New York was published on April 8, 1968.
Finally, Gloria had the chance to consistently cover political issues in New York's City Politic column.
Gloria's Feminist "Click" Moment
In 1969, a hearing regarding the liberalization of abortion rights in New York State took place in Albany. The jury consisted of fourteen men and one nun.
In response, the radical feminist group Redstockings organized a speak out in the basement of Washington Square Methodist Church in Greenwich Village. Gloria attended this speak out while conducting research for City Politic.
The speak out turned out to be a watershed moment for Gloria. For the first time, she heard women come together to share their abortion experiences and realized the need for a women's movement.
You can listen to the whole speak out here.
New York Magazine: Gloria Steinem on the Women's Revolution (1969-04-07) by New York MagazineOriginal Source: New York Magazine
Soon after, Gloria wrote "After Black Power, Women's Liberation" for her political column in New York.
Scroll to read the groundbreaking piece, which was published in April of 1969.
After Black Power, Women's Liberation (1969-04-04) by Gloria SteinemGloria's Foundation
Gloria was ignited by her experience in the church basement and continued to meet other feminists who reaffirmed the need for a publication of their own. She made a proposition to New York: to publish the first issue of a magazine written by and for women within the pages of December 1971’s final issue. Clay Felker agreed. New York needed something to catch the public’s attention for their year-end issue, and this would be a test to see if there was any interest in it.
Gloria Steinem at a Ms. Magazine editorial meeting (1973) by Gloria's Foundation ArchiveGloria's Foundation
Founding "Ms."
With the green light from New York, Gloria and a group of women writers and editors rushed to create the Preview Issue. They lacked budget and time, and had the reputation of the movement at stake.
Ms. Etymology Research (1972) by Gloria's Foundation ArchiveGloria's Foundation
On Choosing "Ms."
"We chose Ms. because it could be explained and justified—since “Mister” or “Mr.” doesn’t communicate a man’s marital status, why should women carry “Miss” or “Mrs.,” as if to advertise their availability as mates?"
- Letty Cottin Pogrebin, Founding Editor of Ms.
Ms. Preview Issue Insert in New York Magazine (1971-12-20) by New York Magazine, Miriam Wosk, and Ms. MagazineGloria's Foundation
The Preview Issue was inserted into New York's 1971 year-end issue. The editors of Ms. called it "Spring" to maintain the movement's credibility if the magazine didn't sell.
300,000 copies of the Preview Issue were meant to last for several months. They sold out in 10 days.
Editor's Letter and Preview Issue Cover (1971-12-20) by Clay Felker and Miriam WoskGloria's Foundation
Miriam Wosk's Cover Art
"Before we got to the woman with the arms, we were hysterical about how we could get everybody in. What age should she be? What color should she be? Fat? Thin? Glasses? Not? Everything was thought through with such care..."
- Letty Cottin Pogrebin
Gloria Steinem and Margaret Sloan (1972-02-14) by Gloria Foundation ArchivesGloria's Foundation
Gloria Steinem and Margaret Sloan
Amidst all of this, Gloria began speaking about feminism across the country. Here she is pictured with Margaret Sloan, one of her speaking partners. Margaret was a founder of the National Black Feminist Organization among other political groups, and an early editor of Ms.
Letter from Margaret Sloan Inviting Gloria to Speak (1971) by Margaret SloanGloria's Foundation
A personal letter from Margaret to Gloria
Margaret Sloan sent this letter to Gloria in 1971, inviting her to join a march and speak with other feminists.
"Up to then, I’d been a freelance writer... who never wanted to be responsible for anything other than my own rent. But because of what I’d learned on the road, I invited writers and editors to explore starting a feminist magazine that was devoted, in the words of the great Florynce Kennedy, “to making revolution, not just dinner.” When those women also said they had no place to publish what they cared about most, Ms. magazine was born."
-Excerpt from My Life on the Road
Breaking Ground
And so, a feminist magazine written by women circulated across the country, informed by the activism of Gloria and many others.
Explore some of the topics that Ms. brought to mainstream media for the first time, like abortion and household workers' rights.
"We have had abortions" (1972) by Ms. MagazineGloria's Foundation
"We have had abortions"
53 public figures signed this petition which ran in the Preview Issue in 1972, when abortion was still illegal.
Today, you can sign the petition, which Ms. has renewed in the wake of nationwide attacks on abortion rights and reproductive freedom in 2022, here.
Jean-Louis Servan-Schreiber Interviews Simone de Beauvoir (1975) by Filosofi för GymnasietGloria's Foundation
Manifesto of the 343
"We have had abortions" was inspired by Manifesto of the 343 in France.
Simone de Beauvoir describes the impact of Manifesto of the 343, a declaration signed by 343 women in France declaring they had illegal abortions. Le Nouvel Observateur published it in 1971.
Letter to Hannah Arendt (1971-10-22) by Gloria Steinem and Barbara DiamonsteinGloria's Foundation
Letter to Hannah Arendt
This is a typed letter from Gloria Steinem and Barbara Diamonstein to Hannah Arendt asking if she would be willing to sign "We have had abortions."
Arendt was a Holocaust survivor and political philosopher who authoredThe Human Condition, among other key 20th-century texts.
Household Workers Rights (1973-02) by Josephine Hulett and Janet Dewart BellGloria's Foundation
Household Rights
Janet Dewart Bell interviewed Josephine Hulett, field director of the National Committee on Household Employment, about her fight to include household workers under federal minimum wage laws.
Listen to Dr. Bell reflect on how this article and Gloria's editing shaped her writing.
Lighting the Fires of Freedom (2020) by Janet Dewart BellGloria's Foundation
Dr. Janet Dewart Bell's first nationally published essay with Josephine Hulett ran in Ms. in 1973 on women's household rights. Her book Lighting the Fires of Freedom is a collection of oral histories of the Black women who led the Civil Rights Movement.
Letters to Ms.
Gloria recalls receiving "bags and bags full of letters" in response to the Preview Issue, affirming that there was a need for a feminist magazine in the mainstream.
The editors continued to receive letters that acted as a form of correspondence and consciousness-raising across the feminist community.
A letter to Ms. Magazine from Senator Barbara Mikulski (1987-07-30) by Barbara A. MikulskiGloria's Foundation
US Senator Barbara A. Mikulski sent this letter to Mary Thom, containing a poem on "Ms." the term and demonstrating its impact -- at the time, Mikulski was not only "Ms. Mikulski" but "Senator Mikulski."
Handwritten Letter from a Ms. Reader (2020-10)Gloria's Foundation
This is one of thousands of handwritten letters to Gloria. The writer highlights the personal impact that Ms. had on her life, from her 7th grade school reports to her Peace Corps experience.
A letter to Gloria from Cathy Guisewite, a Ms. reader, writer and cartoonist (2018-01-26) by Cathy GuisewiteGloria's Foundation
Ms. readers often recount their experiences of first holding the magazine. This letter, from Cathy Guisewite, evokes the experiences of many readers in the 1970s when they read Ms.: excitement, hope, and possibility.
Cathy Comic Strip (1998-03-25) by Cathy GuisewiteGloria's Foundation
Cathy Guisewite, the author of that letter, has drawn and published tens of thousands of comics about womanhood.
“Cathy” ran daily in newspapers from 1976 to 2010.
Scroll to read a few of these strips.
Cathy Comic Strip (1996-10-04) by Cathy GuisewiteGloria's Foundation
Cathy Comic Strip (2002-06-24) by Cathy GuisewiteGloria's Foundation
Fifty Things That Aren't My Fault (2019) by Cathy GuisewiteGloria's Foundation
In 2019, Cathy's book Fifty Things That Aren't My Fault was published. This is the book that Cathy wrote to Gloria about in 2018, citing Ms. as a launch point for her writing and feminism.
The lasting impact of Ms. shines through not just what the readers have gone on to do, but through the enduring friendships of the early writers and editors.
Watch Suzanne Braun Levine and the early editors of Ms. discuss the importance of their relationships with each other.
Despite the challenges at the start of her career, Gloria amassed a portfolio more expansive than she could have ever imagined. She has published an array of bestselling books, including her memoir My Life on the Road. Her lifelong love of quotes has formalized into The Truth Will Set You Free, But First It Will Piss You Off!, a book of quotes and reflections on her own life.
Gloria's life has taken countless unexpected turns, but her love of writing has always remained a constant.
Gloria's Books (1963/2019) by Gloria SteinemGloria's Foundation
"Writing is the only thing that, when I do it, I don't feel I should be doing something else."
Gloria Steinem
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Gloria's Foundation, MAKERS, Ms. Magazine, Open Road Meda, Smith College Special Collections
