Livia Follet, Author at Ms. Magazine https://msmagazine.com/author/lfollet/ More Than A Magazine, A Movement Tue, 23 Dec 2025 16:25:53 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9 https://msmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/cropped-ms-logo-32x32.jpg Livia Follet, Author at Ms. Magazine https://msmagazine.com/author/lfollet/ 32 32 The Best and Worst Quotes of 2025, By and About Women https://msmagazine.com/2025/12/23/best-worst-feminist-women-quotes-2025/ Tue, 23 Dec 2025 16:23:07 +0000 https://msmagazine.com/?p=390286 A collection of this year’s most inspiring and infuriating things said by and about women. Some quotes hit like a shot, others a palate cleanser. Here they are in alternating fashion. 

“Let me just tell you, you are an obnoxious—a terrible, actually a terrible reporter."

"Yes, this work will break your heart. Some days, it will exhaust you, and still, you must continue, because here’s what the research ultimately shows: When younger people lead, democracy doesn’t just survive, it thrives.”

“We are initiated into a sisterhood. We’re in a sorority that none of us asked to join, but we all stand here today, stronger together, because our collective voice is powerful.” 

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Rest in Power: The Women, Feminists and Movement Builders We Lost in 2025 https://msmagazine.com/2025/12/15/women-feminists-died-2025-obituary/ Mon, 15 Dec 2025 16:17:37 +0000 https://msmagazine.com/?p=389970 Tierra Walker. Cecile Richards. Patty Berne. Melissa Hortman. Jane Goodall.

As 2025 comes to a close, we look back on the feminists and movement builders we've lost this year.

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Election Results: Historic Gender Gaps Shape 2025 Outcomes in Virginia, New Jersey and Beyond https://msmagazine.com/2025/11/03/2025-election-results/ Mon, 03 Nov 2025 16:28:03 +0000 https://msmagazine.com/?p=388029 We've curated the results of all the state-by-state election results that feminists most care about.

Together, the early data from this week's elections paints a clear picture: Women voters were the decisive force in the 2025 elections, driving sweeping Democratic victories across key states. Women turned out at higher rates than men and made up a majority of voters. Support for women’s rights, reproductive freedom, gender equality and fair immigration policies powered a Democratic sweep this election season.

Historic gender gaps reshaped the political landscape:
—In Virginia, 65 percent of women voted for Democrat Abigail Spanberger for governor, compared to just 48 percent of men, a 17-point gender gap
—In New Jersey, women backed Democrat Mikie Sherrill by 62 percent, compared with 49 percent of men, a 13-point gap that proved decisive in her win. 

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Ahead of the Country: How Florida’s Progressive Fight Against Authoritarianism Is Setting the Tone https://msmagazine.com/2025/10/31/no-kings-florida-trump-medicaid-cannabis-marijuana-abortion-authoritarianism-progressive-activists/ Fri, 31 Oct 2025 19:44:28 +0000 https://msmagazine.com/?p=387953 Like many others across the nation, people gathered outside the Duval County Courthouse in Jacksonville, Fla., on Oct. 18, 2025, to send a message: No Kings. People played music and danced. Kids found space to throw a football. People ran into old friends. 

“What really stood out to me was how much fun it was. I mean, people were enjoying themselves. You had people in frog costumes and other things. You had some pretty funny signs,” says Larry Hannan, communications and policy director for State Voices Florida, who attended the No Kings rally in Jacksonville. 

While Florida has trended red in the last decade, its voters have consistently favored progressive measures. In 2024, Florida’s Right to Abortion Initiative, as well as the state’s Marijuana Legalization Initiative, received 57 and 56 percent of the vote, respectively. Even though both measures were supported by the majority of voters, both initiatives were struck down because they failed to meet Florida’s 60 percent supermajority.

“In a lot of ways, the better we fight back here, the better the country is. Because a lot of people are saying, ‘Oh, I can't believe this is happening.’ And us in Florida are saying, ‘Yeah, this happened a few years ago,’” says Hannan, who noted that Florida has served as a rough draft for the conservative MAGA movement, since many of the president’s current advisers are former Florida officials. 

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Leading Health Groups Slam Trump and RFK’s Claims Linking Tylenol to Autism: ‘Irresponsible and Misleading’ https://msmagazine.com/2025/09/25/doctors-autism-tylenol-acetaminophen-pregnancy/ Thu, 25 Sep 2025 21:30:00 +0000 https://msmagazine.com/?p=386457 Doctors and autism researchers stress that acetaminophen remains safe during pregnancy and warn that Trump and Kennedy’s claims risk spreading harmful misinformation.

American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP): “Today’s White House event on autism was filled with dangerous claims and misleading information that sends a confusing message to parents and expecting parents and does a disservice to autistic individuals."

American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP): “Emergency physicians must align around clear, evidence-based guidance for patients. The data from numerous studies have shown that acetaminophen is safe and effective."

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The Push to Eliminate New York State’s Voluntary Intoxication Loophole: ‘You Should Be Allowed to Get Drunk and Not Be Taken Advantage Of’ https://msmagazine.com/2025/09/19/new-york-voluntary-intoxication-loophole-drunk-rape-women-violence-sexual-assault/ Fri, 19 Sep 2025 16:49:47 +0000 https://msmagazine.com/?p=386119 Under current New York law, if someone was drinking by choice when they were assaulted, prosecutors can decide not to pursue the case. This law provides prosecutors with an out when it comes to sexual assault, and statistics show they take it. In 2019, prosecutors dropped nearly half of all sexual assault cases in the Manhattan district attorney’s office. A bill proposed in the state legislature is looking to make it harder for prosecutors to throw out sexual assault and rape cases by prohibiting the use of intoxication of the victim as a defense. 

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What Would Social Media Look Like if it Was Made for Women? How Women are Navigating Social Media During the Second Trump Administration https://msmagazine.com/2025/07/27/social-media-safety-community-women-online-abuse-harassment-communia-olivia-deramus/ Sun, 27 Jul 2025 11:00:00 +0000 https://msmagazine.com/?p=383715 Following the 2024 election and the presidential inauguration, women faced a dramatic increase in online harassment. Across X, TikTok, Facebook and other social platforms, statements calling for the repeal of the 19th Amendment resurfaced and increased by 633 percent compared to the previous week. Increasingly jarring, “Your body, my choice,” became a trending phrase on Facebook and grew by over 4600 percent on X. 

Olivia DeRamus, the founder and CEO of Communia, a social networking app and self development platform made for women, said that the social networking app has become a place for women to take refuge from the dramatic uptick in online harassment following the 2024 election and the inauguration. 

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From the Survivors of Diddy to Those Abused in State Custody, the Path Towards Expanding Protections in New York State https://msmagazine.com/2025/06/12/diddy-abuse-state-custody-prison-jail-expanding-protections-women-victims-new-york-state/ Thu, 12 Jun 2025 19:53:21 +0000 https://msmagazine.com/?p=380725 Survivors of sexual violence, advocates and lawmakers in New York are calling for legislation that would fill key gaps in the state’s law, making it harder for those accused of sexual abuse, harassment and discrimination to sue their accusers for defamation. The legislation also includes a bill that would give people abused in state custody more time to seek justice. 

“If New York truly supports survivors, our laws should make justice in civil court more accessible, not less. Survivors should be able to receive monetary compensation that can aid their healing without having to face onerous legal hurdles. The package of bills we're urging Albany to pass this session will do exactly that,” said Emily Miles, executive director of the New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault.

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Our Abortion Stories: ‘I Have the Privilege to Live in a State Where I Am Safe’ https://msmagazine.com/2025/05/13/abortion-stories-miscarriage-wanted-baby-pregnancy-loss/ Tue, 13 May 2025 17:09:05 +0000 https://msmagazine.com/?p=378574 "If she could have put off the baby for two more years, she could have saved up a nest egg and created her family the way she wanted. Instead, she was trapped with a baby too soon."

Abortions are sought by a wide range of people for many different reasons. There is no single story. Telling stories of then and now shows how critical abortion has been and continues to be for women and girls. (Share your abortion story by emailing myabortionstory@msmagazine.com.)

"Seven more days. To find out what is happening inside my body. What is poisoning my body. Starving my body. Starving my life of joy and laughter."

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From Montana to Florida—How Past Pro-Abortion Ballot Measures Are Helping Fuel a Movement https://msmagazine.com/2025/05/01/abortion-ballot-measures-vote-2024-2022/ Thu, 01 May 2025 21:33:50 +0000 https://msmagazine.com/?p=378790 During the 2024 elections, 10 statewide abortion ballot measures aimed at expanding abortion rights in their respective states were certified for the general election ballot, marking the most in a single year. The majority of the results solidified what pro-abortion advocates already knew: Abortion is popular. 

In 2024, voters overwhelmingly supported reproductive rights measures in eight states, seven of which passed (Florida fell just 3 percent short of the 60 percent threshold required). Amendments passed in Arizona, Colorado, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nevada and New York.

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