Author: Carmen Rios

Carmen Rios is a feminist superstar. She's a consulting editor and the former managing digital editor at Ms. and the host of "Looking Back, Moving Forward," a five-part series from Ms. Studios. Carmen's writing on queerness, gender, race and class has been published by outlets including BuzzFeed, Bitch, Bust, CityLab, DAME, Feminist Formations, GirlBoss, MEL, Mic, the National Women’s History Museum, SIGNS and the Women’s Media Center, and she was a co-founder of Webby-nominated Argot Magazine. @carmenriosss|carmenfuckingrios.com

‘I’m a Native Woman Before I’m Anything Else’: The Personal Is Political for New Mexico Senator Angel Charley

New Mexico state Sen. Angel Charley’s journey to elected office began with feminist organizing. Now she’s centering Indigenous women’s rights during a historic moment for gender representation in New Mexico politics.

“I’m a mom. I’m a daughter of parents that are getting older. I’m a wife and a partner, but I’m also an Indigenous woman. I’m a Native woman before I’m anything else in this world. … I’m constantly asking: How is this going to affect tribes, nations and pueblos? Have we consulted with them?”

Hear more from Charley and other feminists on the newest Ms. podcast, Looking Back, Moving Forward—the first episode is out now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

Americans Want a Feminist Future—But in Order to Make it Happen, We Have to Rethink Our Entire Political System  

Donald Trump has insisted that he has a “mandate” from voters to peddle his wildly unpopular policies—and, apparently, to stop at nothing to enforce them. But in reality, Americans by and large want a feminist future.

I talked to experts in gender and politics about the promise of a truly representative democracy—and what it will take for feminists to build one. The first episode of the brand-new Ms. podcast Looking Back, Moving Forward digs into the history and future of the feminist fight for both political representation and political power. The experts I spoke to for the episode reminded me that feminists have the power to redefine our democracy—and that rumors of our defeat have been greatly exaggerated.

Listen to the newest Ms. podcast Looking Back, Moving Forward—available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

‘We Have to Break the Spell We Have Been Under About What This Country Is’: Why Aimee Allison Still Believes in a Multiracial Feminist Democracy

Aimee Allison founded She the People to empower more of us to envision an America redefined and inspired by women of color. As its president, she launches and spearheads efforts to demonstrate the political power of women as color and advance racial, economic, and gender justice.

As part of the first episode of the new Ms. Studios podcast Looking Back, Moving Forward, Allison talked to Ms. about her vision for a feminist future, rewriting the American story, and what it will take for us to build a better democracy. 

“We stand for something extremely powerful, and we have a legacy of women who came before us that are going to actually show us the way forward.”

Daring to Remember: Tell Us Your Abortion Story

We must remind the country what a nation without any safe, legal abortion access looks like. We must remind our lawmakers what women’s lives without abortion access look like—and the devastating ways in which an end to abortion access is an end to our freedom. We are fighting for Roe with our own stories. We are daring to remember.

Submit your story by emailing myabortionstory@msmagazine.com

UNPLANNED PARENTHOOD: Inside the Art Installation Using Historical Testimony to Call for a Feminist Future

On Wednesday, feminist artist Michelle Hartney launched UNPLANNED PARENTHOOD—a collaborative, textile-based piece exploring historical attacks on reproductive health access and calling for intersectional reproductive justice.

“I want to tell the stories of the women who suffered because of laws that once prohibited so many from accessing information and care, and reckon with the fact that the attacks we’re seeing now on reproductive care hurt women at the intersections the most.”

Hate for Hillary

hillary clinton

In “The Hunting of Hillary,” Pulitzer Prize-winning political biographer Michael D’Antonio recounts how her political opponents used sexist attacks to paint Clinton as a “ball-busting feminist” and frigid wife; a power-hungry “Lady Macbeth” and even a manipulative murderer. Along the way, he writes, they eroded political institutions, not only to damage Clinton’s political prospects, but to consolidate their own power.

The Ms. Q&A: Adrienne Lawrence Wants You to Stay in the Game—and Fight Back Against Sexual Harassment

Adrienne Lawrence was the first on-air personality to sue ESPN for sexual harassment. In her new book Staying in the Game, Lawrence lays down her hard-earned knowledge about what it takes to face down “harassholes,” identify and avoid toxic workplaces and demand accountability for bad behavior that, for too long, has pushed women out of workplaces.