50 Years of Ms. Magazine: How Far Have We Come?

Launched in 1972, Ms. paved the way for a new kind of journalism for and by women. After completing 50 years of publication in July 2022, the question still stands- what has changed in feminist journalism? Co-founder and feminist activist, Gloria Steinem, in a roundtable discussion by the New York Times said that she feels proud and “mad as hell”. The problem, a symptom of which is the overturning of the Roe v Wade decision, is that the world is still “dealing with the same issues”.

The radical quarterly publication had a quite symbolic first launch cover. Kali- the Hindu goddess of change is featured with eight hands, each holding an object emblematic of women’s condition yet a vessel for radical change. Ironically, one of the featured articles is titled “Women Tell the Truth About Their Abortions”

Ms Magazine completes 50 years

50 years later, Ms. remains a reliable source of journalism for women, encouraging transgression of constricting normative boundaries. The magazine has announced new leadership teams and a plethora of new initiatives in journalism. Michelle Goodwin and Jennifer Weiss-Wolf will join the American executive editor of Ms., Katherine Spillar, to lead the expansion.

Goodwin is also set to become the executive producer of Ms.Studios which is a podcast and audio platform for women-led journalism. Goodwin will be the vanguard of combining multimedia programming with print and digital reporting while encouraging discourse on matters of gender, disability, socio-politics and geopolitics as well as matters of LGBTQ importance.

Weiss-Wolf will be the executive director of Ms. partnerships and strategy. She will work to strengthen organisational influence through the launch of the series “Women and Democracy”. Topics up for scrutiny would include key milestones of the Equal Rights Amendment, to analyze the future of abortion rights and the voting power of American women among other such issues.

Suggested Reading: Why All Young Women Should Idolise Gloria Steinem

That’s not all. Ms. is proud to announce that in 2023 it will be launching Fifty Years of Ms., a book published by Alfred A. Knopf of Penguin Random House. The milestone collection will feature the very best of Ms.’ revolutionary works throughout these five decades as well as behind-the-scenes pictures and carefully chosen material from its archives.

All in all, a great deal of time may have passed but Ms. magazine’s efforts have not dulled. It retains a roaring sound of trust, growth and change among women and truly is, as it claims, “more than a magazine, a movement”.

Views expressed by the author are their own.