Thank you, Gloria Steinem: Toledo Native and Feminist Icon
Posted on September 9, 2026
by Melissa L
Feminist icon Gloria Steinem was born in Toledo in 1934 and emerged as a leading voice on issues of equality. Her crusade to advance the equal rights of women in the workplace, in society, and in the world at large has impacted the lives of millions of women. Gloria not only established magazines and nonprofits that continue to advance her legacy of activism, but she always strove to build community around the issues that affect women every day. My favorite quote from Gloria is from her 1983 book Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions:
“People now ask me if I’m passing the torch. I always explain that no, I’m keeping my torch, thank you very much. And I’m using it to light the torches of others. Because the truth is that the old image of one person with a torch is part of the problem, not the solution. We each need a torch if we are to see where we’re going. And together, we create so much more light.”
While we lost this luminary of feminism and equal rights when Gloria died on September 2 at the age of 92, her light will continue to shine through the communities she built and the books she wrote, the better to ignite all of our own torches. Rest in peace, Gloria.
Gloria’s newest work is An Unexpected Life, which publishes on September 22, 2026. Reserve your copy! And check out the list below to see more of Gloria’s books and some biographies chronicling her revolutionary life.
In 2014, The Steinem Sisters Collective, a grassroots group of Toledo-area feminists, created a lending library of feminist publications to recognize the noted journalist and social activist’s 80th birthday. They named it the Steinem Sisters’ Library and Resource Center and it was housed at People Called Women, a feminist bookstore owned by one of the Collective’s founding members. When the store was sold in 2017, the Collective’s original archive of feminist works was donated to the Toledo Lucas County Public Library and renamed the Steinem Sisters Collection. The Toledo Library is the only public library in the United States with a dedicated feminist collection. Today and into the future, the Toledo Library continues to honor Gloria Steinem’s life and legacy through the Steinem Sisters Collection’s materials and programs.
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