Feminist History Archives - Ms. Magazine

‘We’re 53 Years Ahead of Where They Were Then’: Looking Back at 50+ Years of Ms.—and Looking Forward to a Feminist Future

Mon, 29 Dec 2025 21:20:40 +0000

In a new bonus episode of Looking Back, Moving Forward, Ms. executive editor Kathy Spillar, consulting editor Carmen Rios, Ms. Committee of Scholars co-chair Janell Jobson, and legendary author, activist and professor Loretta Ross explore how the stories of our past can continue to inspire us—and give us hope in the fight forward.

"I don’t believe that the assault on women and women’s rights can be extracted from the overall dysfunction of all societies."

"We have to keep rewriting history and reclaiming history, especially knowing that the forces out there are doing what they can to erase us."

"There’s a long lineage of people who have been fighting this fight, because they know that we deserve justice."

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Women’s and Girls’ Wrestling Is Ready for Its Modern Era

Fri, 26 Dec 2025 12:00:00 +0000

Women's and girls' wrestling has grown considerably in the U.S. since the late '80s. After the sport's debut at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, more and more girls began joining high school wrestling teams as more high schools began making teams for girls.

Although the sport carries a long history, women's wrestling is now more popular than it's ever been. The sport seeks to create community after being ignored for many years, and will be featured at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. It will be in that moment in Los Angeles, under the Olympic flame, that women's and girls' wrestling will close the chapter of its trailblazing journey and launch into a modern era.

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Our Favorite Feminist Documentaries From the Past Year

Tue, 23 Dec 2025 20:17:17 +0000

Read the reviews from the best documentaries like Dear Ms.: A Revolution in Print and Zurawski v Texas from the past year.

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Feminists vs. Authoritarians: Honoring Leaders Holding the Line

Wed, 19 Nov 2025 23:07:33 +0000

Greetings from Los Angeles—on the heels of a very special evening to celebrate the heart and soul of the democracy movement. On Tuesday night, Ms. paid tribute at the Global Women’s Rights Awards to bold leaders operating at the intersection of media, the law and storytelling—recognizing these as the essential trifecta for toppling authoritarianism. And, importantly, for fueling a feminist future.

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A Landmark Self-Defense Case in the Age of Mass Incarceration: A New Documentary Tells Joan Little’s Story

Fri, 14 Nov 2025 00:33:08 +0000

A new documentary short chronicles Little's groundbreaking case—and her historic victory as the first U.S. woman acquitted for using deadly force to resist sexual assault.

The post A Landmark Self-Defense Case in the Age of Mass Incarceration: A New Documentary Tells Joan Little’s Story appeared first on Ms. Magazine.

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‘Liberation’ Opens on Broadway—And Ms. Magazine Is at Its Heart

Thu, 30 Oct 2025 17:29:47 +0000

The feminist revolution has taken center stage. Liberation, written by Bess Wohl and directed by Whitney White, officially opened on Broadway on Oct. 28, 2025, at the James Earl Jones Theatre, following a critically acclaimed Off-Broadway run earlier this year.

In an interview with Vogue, Wohl said she was inspired by her mother’s work as an editor at Ms.: “The arc of history is so much longer than we realize. Already in 1970 women were feeling frustrated, like, ‘When is this gonna happen?’ … And I think that that urgency really powers so much of the story of the play.”

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Russia Was Once a Revolutionary Feminist Motherland

Wed, 22 Oct 2025 20:58:57 +0000

Russia’s hostility to feminism today stems not from its foreignness, but from memory. A century ago, it was Russian women who lit the first sparks of revolution. On International Women’s Day in 1917, factory workers filled the streets of Petrograd demanding bread, peace and equality—an uprising that toppled the Romanovs and pulled the world into modernity. Under the Bolsheviks, women won the right to vote, divorce became accessible and abortion was legalized. For a brief, radical moment, the Soviet experiment made women’s liberation a pillar of the state.

Julia Ioffe’s book, Motherland: A Feminist History of Modern Russia, from Revolution to Autocracy, reminds us that today’s Russia rejects feminism precisely because it once knew what it could do: ignite revolutions, upend hierarchies and reimagine power itself.

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‘Who Could Be Opposed to This?’: Why the ERA Is Kathy Spillar’s ‘North Star’ in the Fight for Gender Equality

Mon, 08 Sep 2025 19:30:07 +0000

Kathy Spillar, executive editor of Ms. magazine, became involved in feminist organizing when the supposed ratification deadline for the Equal Rights Amendment expired in 1982. In the final episode of the Ms. podcast Looking Back, Moving Forward, she explains why, 40 years later, she’s still calling for constitutional equality.

Listen to the latest episode of Looking Back, Moving Forward, "The Feminist Fight For The Equal Rights Amendment Is Far From Over—and More Urgent Than Ever (with Pat Spearman, Ellie Smeal, Carol Moseley Braun, Kathy Spillar, and Ting Ting Cheng)" on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

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‘It Was The Most Important Thing I Could Do’: Ellie Smeal Reflects on a Lifetime of ERA Activism—And What Comes Next

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 19:50:36 +0000

Ellie Smeal helped architect the movement to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. In the final episode of Looking Back, Moving Forward, she shares stories from the frontlines and offers lessons—and optimism—for the fight ahead.

The post ‘It Was The Most Important Thing I Could Do’: Ellie Smeal Reflects on a Lifetime of ERA Activism—And What Comes Next appeared first on Ms. Magazine.

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‘I’m Not Going to Tolerate Being Treated as a Second-Class Citizen’: Carol Moseley Braun Isn’t Giving Up on the Fight for Constitutional Equality

Wed, 03 Sep 2025 20:55:33 +0000

"The expectation of equality is the most important cultural thing that we can achieve, and we have to keep holding up that light."

Carol Moseley Braun became the first Black woman elected to the Senate after her involvement in the movement to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. In the fifth and final episode of Looking Back, Moving Forward, more than 40 years later, she asked a simple question: “Why haven’t we gotten this right yet?”

The post ‘I’m Not Going to Tolerate Being Treated as a Second-Class Citizen’: Carol Moseley Braun Isn’t Giving Up on the Fight for Constitutional Equality appeared first on Ms. Magazine.

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