Gloria Steinem, the author, journalist and activist who became one of the most prominent voices of the US women's movement, has died at 92. Her death was announced on her and her foundation's social media accounts, which stated that she died on Wednesday at her home in New York City.

Recognisable by her trademark aviator glasses and streaked hair, the Ms Magazine co-founder spent much of her life travelling to speak at rallies, college campuses, and community centres. Steinem consistently emphasised meeting people directly in real life rather thanon  phones or the internet.

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"You can't do it on the phone or on the web," Steinem told The Associated Press in an interview in 202. "You have to be there with all five senses. It should be obvious that people can't empathise with each other unless we're in the same room," she added.

From Journalism To Activism

Steinem began her career as a journalist, gaining attention in 1963 for an undercover report on the degrading working conditions inside Hugh Hefner's Playboy Club, an assignment she later regretted.

Her focus shifted to full-time activism six years later after attending a meeting where women spoke out in favour of abortion rights.

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Steinem, who had undergone a secret, illegal abortion at age 22, cited the meeting as the beginning of her activism.

"That speak-out was the beginning of activism for me," Steinem told The AP in an email in 2022 following the Supreme Court's reversal of Roe v Wade. "Either our control over our own bodies is equal, regardless of sex or race, or we're not living in a democracy," she added.

(With Inputs From Agencies)

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