This Moment is a Call to Action for Feminists Everywhere

Hard-won rights are steadily being rolled back. Authoritarianism is once again fashionable, dressed up in slogans and banners. And billionaires are calling the shots. This moment feels grim and hopeless—but it’s not. Consider it, instead, a call to action for feminists everywhere.

Ms. magazine was born for a time like this. Fifty-three years ago, Gloria. Steinem and a small band of determined women set out to create a magazine that didn’t whisper, didn’t apologize and didn’t avert its eyes from the truth. All these years later, Ms. remains—still defiant, still asking questions others won’t dare to touch, still answering those questions truthfully and boldly.

How Diahann Carrol and Shirley Chisholm Reshaped Politics: An Excerpt from ‘A More Perfect Party’

An excerpt from Juanita Tolliver’s A More Perfect Party: The Night Shirley Chisholm and Diahann Carrol Reshaped Politics, a story of how the first Black woman to star in a network sitcom teamed up with the first Black woman to run for president in order to spark change.

“Diahann Carroll knew how to throw a party. On the cool evening of April 29, 1972, Carroll’s estate was bursting with celebrity, exuberance and history in support of the first Black person, and the first woman, to seek the Democratic nomination for president. The Welcome to Hollywood party for the Honorable Shirley Chisholm, U.S. representative of New York, was kicking into high gear.”

Carolyn Maloney and Eleanor Smeal Applaud President Biden’s ERA Statement

On Friday, President Biden issued a strong statement declaring that the Equal Rights Amendment has been ratified and is the law of the land, having met both requirements of Article V with the vote of two-thirds of Congress and ratification by three-fourths of the state legislatures.

“The ERA would etch equal rights into the Constitution—to protect and expand our opportunities, choices and rights,” said Carolyn Maloney, president of New York State NOW and former member of Congress.

“There is nothing in the president’s statement that prevents the Congress from also affirming the ERA as the 28th Amendment to the Constitution, as they did with the 27th Amendment,” said Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day Is Also Trump’s Inauguration Day. We Must Keep Honoring Dr. King’s Legacy.

Each year, the holiday dedicated to the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. reminds us of his remarkable contributions in the fight for civil rights and freedom and his powerful legacy that continues to serve as a beacon of hope. In 2025, the holiday falls on Inauguration Day, when the nation will witness the swearing-in of Donald Trump as the 47th president of the United States. 

Regardless of any discouragement, frustrations and setbacks we may experience in the coming weeks and months, we can learn from Dr. King’s example and remain unbowed, unflinching and undeterred in opposing injustice and fighting for equality. Our commitment must last well beyond Jan. 20—until the promise of democracy becomes a reality for all. 

The Legacy of Dr. Warren Hern: Abortion Provider, Women’s Health Advocate and Target of Hate

After more than 50 years of providing abortions, Dr. Warren Hern of Boulder, Colo. will retire on Jan. 22 of this year. For 50+ years, he has been one of the most high-profile—and controversial—abortion doctors in the United States. This controversy has stemmed from his work as one of only a handful of providers to perform abortions in the late second trimester and the third trimester of pregnancy.

Though only about 1.5 percent of abortions in the U.S. take place after 20 weeks’ gestation, often due to lethal or serious fetal anomalies or health emergencies of pregnant women, those who perform such abortions have been subject to an even higher level of violence and harassment than that of other providers. One of the most traumatic events of Hern’s life was the loss of his close friend and colleague, Dr. George Tiller, also a provider of later abortions, who was assassinated in his church by an antiabortion zealot after being assailed for years as “Tiller the Killer,” including by a Fox News personality. A note he received from one patient no doubt reflects the feelings of many: “I can’t put into words my gratitude for your compassion during the hardest time in my life.”

How School Districts Can Take Action to Protect Their Immigrant Students

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Here we go again. President-elect Donald Trump has threatened to deport millions of immigrants as soon as he takes office. As of mid-November, he vowed to use the military to deliver on this promise, and for those states and cities so bold to defy his orders, he’ll cut their federal funding. All of it.

What does this mean for schools? Well, with more immigrant students enrolling in more districts across the country, these proposals bring the threat of immigration enforcement closer to the school gates than many school leaders realize. It’s time to act. Fortunately, school leaders have morality, financial logic and the law on their side. In this commentary, we’ll outline why, and then present an example of how.

How I Broke Through the Fertility Industry’s False Promises to Become a Mom at 44

Assisted reproductive technology is more an art than a science—and until the success rates for certain groups drastically improve, doctors are foisting fairy tales onto vulnerable women. 

IVF was a hot button issue in this year’s election. But today’s discussion about whether IVF should remain legal leaves out a fundamental point: It assumes that IVF works. This is, however, far from the truth for many—especially Black and Brown women and older women—for whom assisted reproductive technology is far from a miracle cure.

Why are we selling women on the idea that they can easily get pregnant after 40 when we know that’s exceedingly rare? The answer is money.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio Will Be a Disaster for Women

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On Wednesday, Marco Rubio appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for his confirmation hearing as the next secretary of state. Rubio is expected to be confirmed without any serious opposition, thanks to the rarity of Cabinet nominee rejections and public support for Rubio, even among Democratic senators. (Rubio served for years on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee as a senator from Florida, and Democrats like Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Cory Booker of New Jersey greeted him warmly on Wednesday.)

But make no mistake—Rubio’s history of hostility toward reproductive autonomy and his recent embrace of “America First” nationalism heralds a State Department that decimates women’s health, human rights and well-being.

Elon Musk and the Phony Far-Right Narrative of ‘Protecting’ Women

Across the 2000s, a series of child sex exploitation cases affected British towns, including Telford, Rochdale, Oxford and Rotherham, scarring the lives of hundreds of children. In 2011, Times journalist Andrew Norfolk reported that networks—so-called “grooming gangs”—of largely British Asian men of Pakistani heritage had trafficked and raped hundreds of mainly girls and young women. Elon Musk—the billionaire owner of social media platform X and incoming lead on US government efficiency—has, it seems, just found out about this devastating national scandal.

Musk has aligned himself with a gendered narrative: It is men’s duty to protect women—even when it means breaking rules or using force. This gender binary—strong men must be ready to use force to protect weak women, especially from hostile alien men—is the core narrative of patriarchal, nationalist, ultra nationalist and also Nazi groups.