Author: Violet Pandya

Violet Pandya is an editorial intern for Ms. and an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, double majoring in gender & women’s studies and sociology. She is also co-interning at the Office of the Gender & Women’s Studies Librarian in Madison. She is especially interested in feminist literature and media, pleasure activism, reproductive justice, and the impacts of postfeminism on girlhood.

Tools of the Patriarchy: How Communication Double Standards Silence Women

“Sorry, but—”

I paused as the words flew from my mouth, forming an apology before I could even consider why I felt the need to begin my confrontation with one. A moment earlier, my friend had interrupted me during a heated debate, and I wanted to finish making the point I had been in the middle of.

“No worries, it’s all good,” he said with a smile, continuing with his argument. I sat stunned by how in a matter of seconds, I had been interrupted, then enabled to apologize for trying to address the interruption—all with the end result of my friend getting to speak over me.

These types of interactions happen to women all the time. Compulsive apologies, interruptions, mansplaining and emotional weaponization are all barriers that get in the way of women getting their point across, and being heard.

Communicating is already complicated enough, but it is even more difficult as a woman—so let’s talk about it.

September 2025 Reads for the Rest of Us

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Each month, Ms. provides readers with a list of new books being published by writers from historically excluded groups.

If you’ve read this column before or follow book publishing, you may know that September is a giant month for new releases. Excellent books are being released this month that you won’t see on this list, and you may wonder why we neglected to include them. Most of the time, this is intentional. We will forego a book with a Big Name publisher and lots of marketing power behind it for a book published by an indie label. We may opt to include a debut author instead of someone who’s got a few books to their name. No matter what, we put time and effort into ensuring we choose the right books for the list and you, our readers.  

Let’s get into the 25 books we’ve chosen to highlight for September 2025. 

June 2025 Reads for the Rest of Us

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Each month, Ms. provides readers with a list of new books being published by writers from historically excluded groups.

Red Hen Press. Alice James Books. Voice of Witness. Nightboat Books. Deep Vellum. Feminist Press. These are just a few of the many indie publishers and nonprofits who recently had their National Endowment for the Arts funding cut by the federal government. An attack on art—specifically literary art—is a deliberate attempt to keep us feeling hopeless, uninspired and compliant.

Many affected publishers have been strategizing ways to lessen the impact, but there is work for us to do, too. Now, more than ever, it’s crucial for us to buy or borrow these publishers’ works, share them with our loved ones and ask our local librarians to get copies.

Reading even just one or two of the 25 books on this list is a first step towards sending the message that we will continue to support the arts and prioritize the stories being told by and about marginalized groups.