Gloria Steinem, the feminist icon who investigated undercover as a ‘Playboy Bunny’, dies at 92

Gloria Steinem, one of the most iconic figures in American journalism and activism for women’s rights, has died at the age of 92.

The foundation bearing her name announced that Steinem had died peacefully at her residence in New York, surrounded by her closest family members. With her passing, the history of the movement for gender equality in America lost one of its most powerful pillars.

Initially establishing herself as a journalist at a time when American newsrooms were almost entirely dominated by men, Steinem went on to become one of the leading voices of the second wave of feminism in her country.

Through her writing, speeches, campaigns and direct political engagement, she made a major contribution to bringing issues previously regarded as matters strictly concerning women into the center of public debate.

In 1971, Steinem played a key role in founding the Women’s Action Alliance, an organization dedicated to combating sex discrimination. Around the same time, she was among the founders of Ms. magazine, which quickly became one of the most influential platforms of the feminist movement in the United States.

However, one of the most extraordinary episodes of her professional journey had taken place several years earlier.

In 1963, at the age of 28, Gloria Steinem undertook a highly unusual investigative mission. Using a false identity, she applied for and worked for about a month as a “Playboy Bunny” at the Playboy Club in New York.

She adopted the name “Marie Catherine Ochs”, presenting herself as a 24-year-old woman with a fabricated biography. The hiring process was rigorous and included instant photographs, long waits and strict scrutiny of her physical appearance.

Steinem also underwent mandatory training, consisting of lessons in makeup, stage-behavior exercises, a trial period at the club and a written test. In fact, she deliberately failed the test to avoid raising any suspicion about her real identity.

During that undercover month, she meticulously documented women’s working conditions, the strict regime of rules and the way every detail of their appearance and behavior was controlled.

This unusual experience became the investigation titled “A Bunny’s Tale”, which was published in 1963. The report stripped away the reality hidden behind the luxurious and alluring facade of the famous club.

Another of the most fundamental commitments of her life was her unwavering defense of a woman’s right to abortion.

Steinem was one of the most outspoken advocates of the reproductive rights movement and regarded the 1973 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, known as Roe v. Wade, as a historic triumph.

But nearly half a century later, in 2022, the Supreme Court overturned that landmark ruling through Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, eliminating federal constitutional protection for the right to abortion and delegating authority to regulate it to the states.

For the activist, the overturning of Roe v. Wade served as concrete proof that freedoms once won are never irreversible.

Over the more than nine decades she lived, Steinem witnessed profound transformations in American society. She saw women move from systematic exclusion in many professional and political spheres, as the feminist movement shifted from the margins to the epicenter of national discourse.

Although her positions provoked fierce opposition from conservatives and criticism from different generations within feminism itself, her influence remained extraordinary.

For decades, the name Gloria Steinem became synonymous with the struggle for gender equality in the United States. She died leaving behind a broad legacy spanning investigative journalism, political activism and a lifelong commitment to women’s rights.