“Promising Young Woman” is an allegory that reflects back to us a deeply disturbing culture that talks up female empowerment while complicit men—and women—exploit, demean, and silence women.
The Inhibition Myth: What ‘Losing Alice’ Gets Wrong About Older Women
“Losing Alice”‘s implicit message is that younger women are intrinsically freer, more uninhibited, than older ones. But today, as a middle-aged wife and mother, I feel much freer in every way that matters.
Among other things, I no longer feel I have to perform for a male gaze: Only now do I understand how exhausting such performance was.
The Ms. Must-Read: “If They Don’t Give Us a Seat, We Bring a Folding Chair”
Every Friday, Ms. executive editor Kathy Spillar breaks down the week’s biggest stories, offering commentary. This weekly letter from the editor recaps critical developments in U.S. and global feminism—alongside the latest Ms. must-reads—right as they unfold.
Women’s Representation: Why Are State Legislatures Still So White and Male?
Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation.
This week: an interview with Zoraya Hightower, the first woman of color on the Burlington, Vt., City Council; new Biden Cabinet nominees confirmed; why state legislatures are still largely white and male; progress toward diversifying all-male boards; and will Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Ala.) become the third Black woman in the Senate?
Rest in Power: Sue Ellen Allen, Advocate to the End
On Feb. 24, the world lost a bright light whose fiery passion matched her signature red hair: my friend, Sue Ellen Allen.
Indefatigable. Courageous breast cancer survivor. Former inmate. Humble. Gracious. Generous. Vulnerable.
This Black History Month, Black Women Just Wanna Get Free
Black women in pop culture are “not lightning that strikes once,” but the “hurricane” that returns again and again to crack open and restructure the American cultural landscape.
As Black Futures Month comes to an end, let’s set our sights beyond the horizon and focus on getting free. We deserve this, and Cecily Tyson, she expects it.
Celebrating Black History: Renaissance Of The Black Press
Black media has long been a staple of Black and immigrant communities that have often had to rely on these newspapers to inform them of stories significant to their communities. But years of economic hardships and a failure to modernize have left many of the newspapers a skeleton of their old selves. Until recently.
This year as America’s Black press celebrates 194 years since the founding of Freedom’s Journal in 1827, the sector is enjoying a renaissance fueled in large part by the murder of several unarmed Black men and women at the hands of police officers and the protests and calls for justice that ensued.
Portrait Gallery: Iconic Black (S)Heroes, in Their Own Words
On the cusp of Women’s History Month and to round out Black History Month, we share portraits of some of the innumerable Black women who have worked hard for the rights we now hold dear, who have shared their artistic talents, and who have helped to nurture this experiment in democracy that is still a work in progress.
Supermodel Aweng Ade-Chuol Is an Advocate for Refugee Mental Health
Aweng Ade-Chuol was born in a Kenyan refugee camp. As a child she immigrated with her family to Australia, where she was scouted by a modeling agency. Today, at age 22, she is a world-famous model who advocates for mental health and equality—especially for refugee girls.
Trade, China and Human Rights: The Challenges Facing the Biden Administration
The Biden administration must contend with major foreign and trade policy issues, including how to manage the potentially-hazardous legacy left by the Trump administration.