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‘Not One More Jane Doe’: From Kavanaugh to Cornell, Enough Is Enough
“For the past week, all I can see is red—for the naked distrust and disgust in which women are regarded, and the willingness to believe, vouch for, and dig hard for any rationale to excuse wealthy, privileged men from any shred of accountability.”
I did not write these particular words about The Cornell 7, the fraternity brothers who are the subject of a civil lawsuit and renewed criminal investigation for allegedly raping a fellow student over the course of several hours two years ago and posting in a group chat to invite others to do the same. Among the comments allegedly in their chain: “Free p*ssy upstairs,” “you can walk in and whip it out,” and “shop still open?”
No, the opening paragraph of my column is pulled from a Ms. essay I wrote exactly eight years ago as I watched the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court.
In 2018 and again in 2026, the country must reckon with establishment-level failure in a sickening pattern of gender-based violence and unabashed patriarchal entitlement—in this case, the university’s tepid response, which included assigning essays to some of the men as part of their punishment, the district attorney’s decision not to prosecute, and the re-opening of the investigation now because of public outrage.
My fury is swelling right now too, but it has a somewhat different flavor than that of 2018. It is the badge of a degraded democracy that the power of certain men will not be held to account.
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Sign UpThe Magazine: Ms.’ Fall Issue, Gloria Steinem’s Legacy, Voting Rights and the Epstein Modeling Pipeline
Never to disappoint, we start with a salute to Gloria and the founding of Ms. and her vision for making sure that women’s experiences and women’s voices counted in the national debate. We report about how she changed journalism for the better and how she fueled ideas through Ms. Magazine. We also unpack a critical aspect of the Epstein legacy, examining the darker side of the modeling industry. While much of the beauty and glamour is simply that–there is also a more troubling side with a hidden path that is connected to sex exploitation, Jeffrey Epstein, and the abuse of women and girls. In this Fall Issue, we also tackle voting rights, the midterm elections, and the Supreme Court’s injudicious handling of voting rights.
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As Federal Courts Strip Away Rights, State Supreme Court Elections Take on New Urgency
There are 31 state supreme court elections across the country in 2026 with 64 seats at play. The justices who will fill those seats will issue rulings that could shape issues from abortion access to voting rights.
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What If the Virgin Mary Had Said No? Hilarious, Heartbreaking Off-Broadway Play ‘The Body of Mary’ Reimagines an Old Story
Through three Marys across centuries, Katie Cappiello’s play uses sharp humor and heartbreak to ask who gets to decide what happens to a woman’s body.
The Body of Mary runs Sept. 8-Oct. 8 at The Gym at Judson in Greenwich Village, New York City.