Laura (Riding) Jackson was not a feminist. But neither was Gloria Steinem, at least at the end of her life. In her final essay, written just before her death on September 2, 2026, and published posthumously in The New Yorker, Steinem wrote:
Maybe we should not call it “feminism” . . . [M]aybe we should
call it egalitarianism, or even humanism. The problem with
humanism is that it is often interpreted as being anti-religion, so I don’t think it’s inclusive enough. Regardless of what we call it, it just means treating each of us as uniquely human. The experiences of race and gender and class are very real and important, but they are also constructed and changeable. Our humanity is consistent and sacred.
In calling for another term for feminism, Steinem began to align more closely with the
perspective of Laura (Riding) Jackson, who, surprisingly, had supported Steinem in the early days of Ms. magazine…..
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