This woman was the link between the Soviets, the CIA, and feminism

Gloria Steinem rose as women’s rights became a Cold War battleground, with Washington reacting to Moscow’s model of female modernity It’s impossible to fully understand the legacy of American feminist icon Gloria Steinem without mentioning Russia.

Steinem – who fought her entire life to promote the radical concept that women should be able to choose whatever kind of life they want – passed away peacefully at her New York home last week at the age of 92.

Judging by all the hair-pulling going on over her involvement with the CIA, you’d think that she had been tasked with planting exploding cigars on Fidel Castro.

But here’s what actually happened.

Fresh out of Smith College in her early 20s, she took off to India to report for two years for a murky “fellowship,” capturing a newly independent country experimenting with Gandhian social reform, where women were actively collaborating to find their place.

When she returned home, she wanted to keep the party going and spread the same kind of enlightened ideals.

She asked around about funding.

Shockingly, corporations weren’t interested.

But THE Corporation was.

The CIA was willing to fork over some cash, but it would involve setting up a think-tank: the Independent Research Service .

She could load up a flight with liberal-minded young American students and professionals who were psyched about leftist ideals – but not too psyched – and take them over to the Soviet-organized World Youth Festivals in Helsinki and Vienna as an option to Communism.

In exchange, she just had to produce some deliverables with her observations.

Read more Why weird men try to put penises on powerful women Basically, she was at the scrimmage line on the global playing field for Western-style liberalism during the Cold War against Communist ideology.

But what does any of this have to do with her lifelong fight for women’s rights and equality? Lots, actually.