Gloria Steinem’s Legacy Is a Rejection of Womanhood

National Review ^ | September 4, 2026 | Neeraja Deshpande

[Morgana]

Yesterday, following the death of feminist activist Gloria Steinem at the age of 92, Netflix released her episode of Famous Last Words, which records interviews with notable people that are only to be released posthumously. After a 40-or-so-minute sit-down conversation with Glee co-creator Brad Falchuk — the cameras are operated remotely by videographers who do not have audio access, so it is as private as can be — he leaves the room and, true to the series’ title, allows his guest to voice his or her last words to the public.

Steinem, especially in her heyday in the ’70s, was always known for her looks, with Vogue once having called her “the most attractive activist in Women’s Lib.” Although at the time of the Netflix recording, she no longer had the iconic streaked hair or the aviator glasses that defined her public image, she was, even in her nineties, unmistakably the same woman who went undercover as a Playboy bunny in order to expose the poor working conditions of the women in Hugh Hefner’s empire — strikingly beautiful, charming, eloquent, sincere. At the end of the episode, she looks straight into the camera and says:

Hello, you unique individuals out there . . . I wish I could meet each one of you in person, but in a way, this is what allows us now to see each other’s lives, to influence each other’s lives, to respect each other, and, therefore, to perpetuate what we hope is a global democracy. Please feel free to respond in any way you can, and please tell your own story.

---

TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Society
KEYWORDS: abortion; antisemite; gloriasteinem; jewhater; moralabsolutes; prolife

[Morgana]

She was a hot mess that is for sure.

[Secret Agent Man]

Shittily-spent life dropped into a shitty eternity.

I am not happy Satan captured another person for hell. I am happy knowing no one escapes justice in the end however.

[Libloather]

We’re gonna need a biologist to figure out all this.

[Dr. Franklin]

She certainly rejected motherhood big time.

[PROCON]

Enjoy your eternal damnation!!!

[Morgana]

I love it 💕💕💕 so much I just posted whole article 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[Jonty30]

Gloria Steinem happened because men gave their authority to women.

If men had kept their God-given authority, feminism would never have launched.

[Governor Dinwiddie]

Gloria:

[RckyRaCoCo]

Wipe and Flush

[yldstrk]

Her “legacy” is the utter garbage my mom raised us on. You better believe I was totally livid at about age 28 when I figured out all of it was complete and total bulls88t. That having a family and children was the best thing you could do with your life.

Yes, by then I had a career as a lawyer. And it was not too late for me to also marry and have children and be a mother which I consider to have been my highest calling. But I had to figure it out for myself.

I also had to figure out for myself that the Democrat family I was raised in that fought against me joining the Army JAG was insane.

I am still the only conservative in my birth family. The only one that didn’t foam at the mouth to get in line for a multiple covid shots.

The only Trump voter three times.

[yldstrk]

And I happily voted for Ronald Reagan.

[alexander_busek]

[...] the same woman who went undercover as a Playboy bunny in order to expose the poor working conditions of the women in Hugh Hefner’s empire

What?! No sympathy for the many men who likewise suffered under poor working conditions in Hugh Hefner's empire?! The lowly office workers, go-fers, janitors, etc.? Aren't they deserving of as much if not more compassion and concern?!

Regards,

[alexander_busek]

I am still the only conservative in my birth family. The only one that didn’t foam at the mouth to get in line for a multiple covid shots. The only Trump voter three times.

Welcome to the club!

And kudos to you for your intellectual rigor and moral fortitude!

Regards,

[mewzilla]

This was never about men vs women.

It was about Deep State ginning up a game of lets-you-and-him-fight, battle of the sexes version.

And too many people of both sexes have been dumb enough to play.

And that has benefited Deep State greatly, hasn’t it.

And Deep State’s war on the nuclear family.

Stop playing, people.

[wardaddy]

We had a former playboy bunny who was a major contributor
I knew her well
She looked back on her playboy years warmly
I myself had personal experience including one extensive with two former playmates of the month
Same reflection from them
In today’s climate it’s exploitation of course but those three women I knew well didn’t see their experiences in playboy “empire” that way

Not to say Hefner didn’t have his issues

[Jan_Sobieski]

Great job! Whom the Lord sets free is free indeed!

[Apparatchik]

Crazy woman - abandoned and rejected by her daddy, so she sought revenge by trying to erase traditional men’s roles by goading women into pretending to be men. Her “a woman needs a man like fish needs a bicycle” quotes reflected her neurosis and daddy issues. Way before all this transgender debate, Gloria Steinem pioneered the transgenderism of persuading women to go into the workplace and compete with men, essentially masculinizing them - and ironically calling it “feminism”. True feminism is emphasizing and valuing the roles that women are physically and psychologically equipped to perform in society - birthing, nurturing, raising children. That is the woman’s true “superpower” and it is degrading to womanhood to tell women that not having a career like a man is shameful. If I could I would piss on that bitch’s corpse for the damage she caused. Women now have their careers, but guess what? They are deeply unhappy - countless studies have shown this - and society is unhealthier than ever.

[nwrep]

Sorry, I will not read an essay written by a foreigner in the NR. Thank you.

[MissEdie]

She also reviled being a lady and everything that entails. I have tried teaching my daughter that yes, she needs to be able to take of herself but having a family is a blessing I pray she gets to experience. Her father teaches her she should expect to be treated with dignity, respect, and as a lady.
Gloria S made women think being a lady was a bad thing and we should all be WOEmen. No, I am so sorry there are many things men can do that women cannot and vice versa. As a dear friend once pointed out to me, God knew what he was doing when he created strengths and weaknesses in both sexes that are offset by each other.