Smiling on the January 1987 cover of Ms., the magazine co-founded by feminism pioneer Gloria Steinem, are its 12 Women of the Year. They include a U.S. senator, a renowned novelist, a former nun who helped Central American refugees. And, smiling brightest of all, Dolly Parton. The beloved country superstar, who died this week at 80, never embraced the feminist label. In fact, she eschewed it when asked, just as she carefully avoided political labels. But a label is just that — a label, and one that was still new when Parton was building her groundbreaking career in music. More telling to her legions of admirers were Parton’s life choices, accomplishments, social alliances and especially, her lyrics — words that made clear how fiercely independent the woman beneath the wig and rhinestones truly was, and what she believed in.In short, Parton may not have claimed to be a feminist, but her feminist fans claimed her just the same — with pride and affection.Fans like Lynn Melnick, who, in writing a book about how Parton’s songs impacted her own life and her recovery from trauma, found herself searching incessantly for moments where the singer might have called herself a feminist. “She didn’t tell us she was a feminist,” says Melnick, author of “I’ve Had to Think Up a Way to Survive: On Trauma, Persistence, and Dolly Parton.” “She showed us — in her actions and her words and in her songs. And I think that’s why people loved her so much.”